Excerpted from www.mercola.com
When our body is under stress, circulation moves to the arms, legs and head to give us the energy to run away from a threat. This evolutionary trait is preparing us to think quickly and escape and in this state, oxygen and blood flow are removed from none essential processes such as digestion. We end up with ~
• Decreased nutrient absorption
• Decreased oxygenation to your gut
• As much as four times less blood flow to your digestive system, which leads to decreased metabolism
• Decreased enzymatic output in your gut – as much as 20,000-fold!
Many nutrients are also excreted during stress, particularly:
• Water-soluble vitamins
• Macrominerals
• Microminerals
• Calcium (calcium excretion can increase as much as 60 to 75 mg within an hour of a stressful event)
As if that’s not enough, your cholesterol and triglycerides also go up, while gut flora populations decrease. You’re also more likely to experience increased sensitivity to food and gastroesophageal reflux.
But perhaps most importantly, when your body is under the stress response, your cortisol and insulin levels rise. These two hormones tend to track each other, and when your cortisol is consistently elevated under a chronic low-level stress response, you’ll likely notice that you have difficulty losing weight or building muscle. If your cortisol is chronically elevated, you’ll tend to gain weight around your midsection. Body fat, especially visceral fat (the fat that gathers around your internal organs, around your midsection) is a major contributing factor to developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
When you eat under stress, your body is in the opposite state of where you need to be in order to digest, assimilate nutrients, and burn calories. Practice ‘mindful’ eating and NEVER eat when you’re stressed. It’s best not to eat at all.
Stress also plays a major role in your immune system, and can impact your blood pressure, cholesterol, brain chemistry, blood sugar levels and hormone balance.
Adrenal Fatigue and Stress
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