According to Everyday Health, Stress has been linked to biochemical changes that can trigger cravings and lead to obesity. So, did you ever find yourself with sweaty hands during your exams or on a first date? Ever felt your heart racing during a horror movie? Then you know you can feel stress in both your mind and body. Be it meeting deadlines at work, delivering presentations, waiting for some good news or sitting at home with no work, we all have felt it entering in our veins progressively. Between work, family and other commitments, stress is a common part of life.
Stress results in poor decision making when it comes to/about/regarding food intake. Unaccounted increase in coffee intake, reaching out for cigarette/alcohol may look like stress-busters but are actually incubators of greater stress and unsound health. Some go for mindless munching on junk foods that leads to obesity while others start skipping meals which also affects health adversely. American Heart Association states – “Being obese puts you at a higher risk for health problems such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and more”. A study published in the noted medical journal Lancet says India is just behind US and China in this global hazard list of top 10 countries with highest number of obese people. Obesity is most common among school kids due to exam as well as peer pressures. Other obese people suffer with low self-esteem due to rejections in both personal as well as professional life.
For those, who skip meals, their health becomes worse. They become (Anorexic) more vulnerable to sickness and other health problems. Human body is an air-cooled machine; it uses energy every second, even if you are sleeping. Since your body uses at least a certain amount of energy each day, this energy must come from chemical energy stored in food, or chemical energy stored in your body’s fat and muscle.
The best solution for eating right to reduce stress? Low-fat, high-fiber, carbohydrate-rich meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables. They soothe us without sapping our energy and give us the nutrients we need to boost our immune system.
When we are stressed the following happens:
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Blood pressure rises
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Breathing becomes more rapid
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Digestive system slows down
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Heart rate rises
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Immune system goes down
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Muscles become tense
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We do not sleep (heightened state of alertness)
Agatsa 