Stress is a normal response to challenging situations. Stressors activate the body’s stress response, which is designed to give us an extra boost of energy when we need it.

When stress response is activated appropriately, the stress response has benefits such as improved focus and attention, faster reaction time, and enhanced memory.

However, in some instances stressors can have negative consequences. When stress is constant and unending, it becomes a problem that must be managed rather than avoided or ignored.

If you experience high levels of stress on a regular basis, you may have developed what experts call “stress-induced hypertension”—high blood pressure caused by chronic stress.

This article will help you identify the sources of your stress and understand how nutrition can play an important role in managing that stress through its effects on neurotransmitters and brain chemistry.

What Causes Stress?

Stressors can be either short-term or long-term. Short-term stressors can range from a difficult conversation to an argument with a spouse to an unexpected car repair.

Long-term stressors tend to be more serious, such as a death in the family, financial problems, or work-related stressors.

Stressors that are controllable tend to be much less harmful than stressors that are not controllable (such as the death of a loved one or a serious illness) and are often referred to as “acute” stressors.

Stressors that are not controllable are generally referred to as “chronic” stressors and can have a much more harmful impact on your health. Chronic stressors may include issues related to work, relationships, or financial concerns.

Determining the Cause of Stress in Your Life

As you review the list of common causes of stress, try ranking them according to the degree of stress they cause you. Y

our goals in doing this are twofold: first, you will begin to see patterns in the challenges in your life that cause you stress. Second, you will begin to see how you can use nutrition to help manage that stress.

Let’s take a look at the causes of stress in more detail.

1. Work

Many adults spend a significant portion of their time at work, and work-related stress is a common problem.

Work-related stress can be caused by a variety of factors, such as excessive workload, a difficult supervisor, unrealistic expectations, or a job that is not a good fit.

2. Family

Family relationships can be both a cause and an effect of stress. Family members may be struggling with illness, a death in the family, or financial challenges.

At the same time, your family’s expectations and the need to provide care for loved ones may cause you to feel an incredible amount of stress.

3. Relationships

Relationships can be a source of great joy and happiness, but they can also be a source of significant stress.

Relationships can be challenging in any number of ways, including a difficult romantic relationship, the stress of caring for a loved one with special needs, or the stress of a relationship with a friend who is struggling.

4. Illness

A serious illness such as cancer or heart disease can cause a significant degree of stress.

You may have additional stress related to the uncertainty of what your future holds, the cost of treatment, and the impact this illness may have on your loved ones.

5. Financial

Financial challenges can be both a cause and an effect of stress.

You may experience stress related to a difficult economy and concerns about the impact this may have on your career. Or you may experience stress related to a health issue that has impacted your ability to work.

Nutrition and Stress-Induced Hypertension

As you can see, stress can take a significant toll on your health. Not only can it lead to depression and anxiety, but it may also increase your risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Stress-induced hypertension is a condition in which the stress response causes blood pressure to rise to a level that is dangerous.

If you are experiencing a significant degree of stress and have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, it is essential that you take steps to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

Doing so will help you lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.

As you look for ways to reduce the amount of stress in your life, you may find that adopting a healthy diet that is rich in nutrients such as B vitamins, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids can help you improve your ability to manage and reduce stress.

Food Choices to Help Alleviate Stress

Food and nutrition have a significant impact on neurotransmitter levels in the brain — the chemicals that help you manage emotions, sleep, and even thinking.

When you have sufficient levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, you are better able to manage stress. When you are low on neurotransmitters, it can be challenging to cope with an already stressful situation.

Understanding how nutrients affect neurotransmitters can help you make better food choices that can help you manage stress.

Let’s take a look at some recommendations for how to manage stress through improved nutrition.

1. Vitamin B

This group of nutrients is essential for a healthy nervous system.

B vitamins are responsible for many functions related to mood, sleep, and stress, including helping to metabolize stress hormones so that the body can break them down and eliminate them from the system.

If you are low in vitamin B, you may feel stressed out and anxious. B vitamins are found in a wide variety of foods, including fortified cereals, eggs, fish, poultry, soybeans, milk, legumes, and nuts.

2. Magnesium

Magnesium is found in many popular dietary supplements and is also found in wide variety of foods, making it one of the easiest nutrients to obtain in adequate amounts.

Many people are deficient in magnesium, which can lead to feelings of anxiety and stress.

Taking an adequate amount of magnesium on a regular basis can help you maintain healthy levels of stress-fighting neurotransmitters.

3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids

These nutrients are found in fish, walnuts, flaxseed, and other plant foods, and they are essential for a healthy nervous system.

Omega-3 fatty acids help us to break down stress hormones and metabolize them so that they can be eliminated from the body.

4. Phenylalanine

This is one of the amino acids that are essential for a healthy nervous system.

Phenylalanine is used in the synthesis of dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine — three important neurotransmitters that help you to stay calm and focused when you are stressed out.

Conclusion

By taking the time to really understand how stress affects your body and how you can manage it through improved nutrition, you can make significant strides towards improving your health and well-being.

Choosing the right foods and getting enough sleep are two critical components of managing stress. Still, there are a number of other ways in which you can reduce the amount of stress in your life through better nutrition.

You can take advantage of your body’s natural ability to boost its own production of the B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and other nutrients necessary for optimal health and well-being.

You can eat more protein, try more plant-based meals, avoid sugary drinks, and practice deep breathing techniques, among other things.

Most importantly, though, is taking the time to really reflect on the sources of your stress and how you can better manage it.

By doing so, you can improve your health and well-being today and set yourself up for a more healthy and happy tomorrow.

Your gut has its own microbiome, a collection of bacteria that lives in your digestive tract. Both the good and bad bacteria in your gut help digest food and fight off invaders.

However, there is much more to your gut microbiome than just the quantity of good vs. bad bacteria.

Those with a balanced gut microbiome have an abundance of good bacteria while an unbalanced gut microbiome has less beneficial probiotics and more pathogenic bacteria.

The balance or lack thereof in your gut affects so many aspects of your life: immunity, digestion, nutrition, stress response, and mental health among others.

There are lots of connections between your gut and your brain and other parts of your body— here’s more information on how they work together.

What is the Gut Microbiome?

The gut microbiome refers to the bacteria and the other microbes that inhabit our gut. The gastrointestinal tract houses the largest amount of bacteria in the human body, around 100 trillion to be exact.

Some of these bacteria are helpful or probiotic while others are harmful or pathogenic. The gut microbiome is linked to immunity, energy balance, and mental health – to name a few. The bacteria in our gut do so much for us yet we don’t really think about it.

What Does a Healthy Gut Look Like?

A healthy gut microbiome is one where there is a balance between the pathogenic and probiotic bacteria. Ideally, the pathogenic bacteria should be kept at a minimum while the probiotic bacteria thrive.

A healthy gut microbiome is also referred to as a “balanced microbiome”. Your gut microbiome is essentially a measure of the health of your gut.

The best way to maintain a healthy gut is to consume a variety of plant-based foods, drink clean water, and practice good hygiene. Here are a few things to keep in mind while trying to balance your gut microbiome.

• Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, and nuts. Seeds such as chia and hemp contain a lot of fiber and protein, which are essential in boosting the growth of probiotics.
• Drink clean water – you need to hydrate yourself but you also need to make sure that you are not consuming fluoride as this can affect your gut microbiome as well.
• Practice good hygiene – wash your hands regularly and avoid coming into contact with pathogens.

The Importance of Bacteria in Your Microbiome

Bacteria in your gut play a critical role in your health by aiding in digestion and producing vitamins that your body cannot produce on its own. Bacteria are also responsible for your immune system, which is why a healthy gut microbiome is extremely important.

A healthy gut works as a barrier against pathogens, preventing them from entering the bloodstream. Bacteria also produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are very important in regulating metabolic activities, such as insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

What’s more, bacteria in your gut can communicate with your brain and vice versa. The gut-brain axis refers to the connection between your gut and your central nervous system.

When there is a deficiency in probiotic bacteria in your gut, the gut-brain axis is negatively impacted. This can lead to poor mental health, such as anxiety and depression, as well as digestive issues, such as bloating and diarrhea.

How is your Gut Microbiome Connected to Your Brain?

Your gut and your brain are connected through a series of neural pathways. This means that when you have a healthy gut microbiome, these pathways are activated, allowing smooth communication between the gut and the brain.

With an unbalanced microbiome, however, these neural pathways are interrupted, leading to poor mental health.

For example, when you consume probiotic-rich foods, they help your gut microbiome thrive, which in turn helps your mental health.

The vagus nerve is one of the neural pathways that connects your gut and your brain. It is a long stretch of nerve fibers that runs from your spinal cord to your abdomen, connecting your gut and your brain.

The vagus nerve is responsible for regulating several metabolic functions, such as digestion and heart rate.

An unhealthy Gut leads to Poor Mental Health

When your gut microbiome is unbalanced, it negatively impacts your mental health. An unbalanced gut microbiome can lead to poor mental health, such as anxiety and depression.

What’s more, poor mental health can also lead to an unbalanced gut microbiome. An example of this would be when you consume too much sugar, which feeds the pathogenic bacteria in your gut and causes a disruption in your gut microbiome.

This can lead to poor mental health, such as anxiety and depression, as well as digestive issues, such as bloating and diarrhea.

An unhealthy Gut leads to Poor Immunity

An unbalanced gut microbiome can also lead to a weakened immune system, which can lead to an increased susceptibility to infections and allergies.

Your gut microbiome is responsible for producing vitamins and minerals that help boost your immunity, such as vitamin B, vitamin K2, and zinc.

What’s more, an unbalanced gut microbiome can cause a decrease in SCFAs, which is harmful to your gut and can lead to weakened immunity.

An unhealthy Gut leads to Poor Digestion and Malabsorption

A disrupted gut microbiome can also affect your digestion. When there is an imbalance in your gut, your digestion is negatively impacted. This can lead to bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

When your gut microbiome is unbalanced, your body is not able to absorb nutrients properly. This in turn leads to deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals.

Bottom Line

Your gut is an incredibly complex system that is responsible for so much more than just digestion. The quality of your gut microbiome plays a significant role in your health.

While many health disorders can be traced back to an unbalanced microbiome, it is also important to understand that you do have some control over your health.

Eating a balanced diet rich in gut-friendly foods and fiber, as well as incorporating lifestyle habits, such as stress management, can help keep your gut healthy.