Stress and Nutrition – at the root of your symptoms?
With the help of muscle testing it is possible to find out in a gentle way, the cause and kind of stress that may be at play. Then not just the symptom can be addressed, but you as a whole person and the utterly unique life that you are can start to make the adjustments that are needed to live a buoyant and happy life!
Even if you are conscious about the importance of high quality food, or spending money or time on it, eating well can’t help if your body cannot assimilate the nutrients you put into it and therefore cannot provide you with excellent health.
So what prevents the assimilation of nutrients?
Understand that when you eat under stress, your body is permanently tuned to the sympathetic nervous system so you cannot properly digest, assimilate nutrients and burn calories.
Let’s have a look at some of the automatic physiological changes that occur in our body when under stress: What happens is that digestion shuts down. This brings with it the following consequences:
- Decreased nutrient absorption
- Decreased oxygenation to the gut
- Decreased metabolism
- Decreased enzymatic output in the gut
- Nutrient excretion of water-soluble vitamins, macro-minerals, micro-minerals and calcium
- Cholesterol and triglycerides rise
- Beneficial gut flora decrease
- More proneness to food intolerances, reflux or heartburn
- Cortisol and insulin levels rise
- The heart rate goes up
- Blood pressure rises
- Blood is going to your arms, legs and head for quick thinking, fight or flight…
In some situations, stress can become a chronic state of affairs where the fight or flight response does not get switched off anymore or not long enough to give sufficient time for the body to repair and replenish itself. This in the end can lead to what is commonly called burnout, which is the result of a constantly aroused sympathetic nervous system.
We haven’t addressed here the aspect of the immune system, the emotions, certain thinking patterns, the environment, sleep etc. all of which can also play a part, which your Well Being coach can also help with.
But first things first: make sure that your digestion and assimilation of nutrients is working as it should and if it doesn’t, find out why and what you can do about it with the assistance of your Well Being coach.