Stress

Originally I had been going to write this newsletter on a different topic, but with the dreadful situation in Christchurch it seemed appropriate to write about stress and how to support our bodies in dealing with the effects of it.

Stress comes in many forms, whether it be physical stress such as illness or trauma, psychological stress such as financial or relationship worries, or pollution in the atmosphere and chemicals in our food.

Is stress bad for us? Stress is a normal physical response to events that make us feel threatened in some way and short term, those responses can be helpful in keeping us focused, such as in playing competitive sports.

On the other hand, chronic (prolonged) stress has been associated with many physical changes in the body, from skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema, to elevated cholesterol and blood pressure levels, digestive problems, depression, obesity, insomnia and lowered immunity.. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in our bodies.

What can we do to help our bodies deal with stress, nutritionally and physically?

Take a high strength multivitamin and mineral providing around 25mg-50mg of the B vitamins. The B vitamins help regulate various metabolic functions, such as breaking down glycogen to fuel your muscles and brain, maintaining proper blood sugar levels, helping lower levels of stress hormones and maintaining correct metabolism for the creation of serotonin, the feel good neurotransmitter in our brain. B vitamins are water soluble, meaning that they are excreted in urine and can be quickly depleted from your body, especially in times of stress.

B vitamins are found in nuts, peas, beans, meat, poultry, fish and whole grains. Rather than taking a B complex supplement on its own, by taking a good multivitamin and mineral product you are also topping up your levels of other micronutrients which are often depleted when you are under stress, such as zinc and magnesium.

Another product I have found to be especially useful in times of stress is Rhodiola Rosea. This is a natural product, an arctic root, which in capsule form is taken once or twice a day and most clients describe it as a “chill pill” which helps them go “whatever” instead of stressing about situations they can’t control.

Exercise is invaluable when it comes to relieving stress. Getting out for a walk or run, or doing some kind of physical exercise really helps to let your thoughts flow and elevate your feel good hormones. Try exercising with a friend, the walk and talk scenario can be very therapeutic.

Alcohol can be a depressant, so while your first inclination may be to have a couple of drinks to help deal with a stressful situation, long term it may only make matters worse.

Excess sugar consumption can also be the cause of low mood, by depleting minerals associated with blood sugar control. How often have you had a binge on high sugar items and then felt wiped out a few hours later? Low mood then often leads to feeling de-motivated and eating more poor quality food.

Stress is part of most people’s lives these days, but it is how we deal with it that makes the difference. Eating well and exercising regularly are essential to help minimise the damage caused by chronic stress.

Impulse eating

A full page ad in the Sunday papers this weekend stated “On average, New Zealanders spend $16.1 million a day on impulse purchases like chips and chocolate bars.” On the following full page they then offered the solution which was a Westpac Impulse Saver application for iPhone users. When you have the urge to spend you just tap a button and the money you were about to spend is transferred to your account – or that is the general idea of it anyway.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could just press a button when we were about to eat something “naughty” and the desire would go away. Now, there’s a great idea for an app for your smartphone!

Acceptance of getting bigger

A while ago I read of how the incidence of obese pregnant women was causing increasingly significant problems with pregnancy, labour and delivery. Now I see that Middlemore Hospital has had to develop special ultrasound machines which can operate through the layers of belly fat of obese women. More disturbing though is the fact that the number of obese patients has increased from 15% in 2006 to 35% in 2010. That’s a huge 20% increase in just four years. The article also stated that several of the women had BMI’s of over 50 (19-25 is the normal range).

In the US (and elsewhere) bigger hospital beds, bigger wheelchairs and bigger coffins are being manufactured to cope with the steady increase in body size. Clothing shops now stock a wide range of XXXXL sized clothes and the range is increasing rapidly.

Are we just accepting that putting on weight is an inevitable part of getting older? Are we not so concerned because our peers are heading in the same direction and everywhere we look we see overweight people? Is it now considered normal to waddle instead of walk? Having rolls of fat around our middles is absolutely not inevitable as we age, if we are prepared to put in the effort to prevent it.

As I’m always saying, there is no quick fix. We have to accept that if we want to stay within a healthy weight range then there is no end to healthy eating and healthy living. That doesn’t mean we have to be perfect all of the time, not at all, but it does mean that we need to make eating well and exercising regularly a significant part of our lives. Everyone falls off the wagon from time to time, absolutely everyone, but it doesn’t mean that it is the end of eating well and we should just give up.

I confess that I gave in to the urge to try making molten chocolate puddings at the weekend. The first batch on Saturday night was good, but not great, so I decided to make them again last night. Of course that meant I had to buy another big block of chocolate, oh shame! Thank goodness the second batch was just right which meant I could get my diary out this morning and get back on track again.

The important thing wasn’t so much the fact that I strayed over the weekend, but that I knuckled down again today. I find that if Monday doesn’t go to plan, then the rest of the week kind of falls apart too and it’s another week before the next Monday comes around and a lot of damage can be done in that week.

If you fall off the wagon, just pick yourself up and climb back on again. Every day you wake up with a clean slate and the ability to make it a good day. Don’t make excuses, make it happen.

Fresh Turkey Products

Tegel now have quite a good range of fresh turkey products, from drumsticks and breasts to turkey mince. Turkey is an excellent source of lean protein and if you can find it, use it. It’s not in all supermarkets, but Pak n Save seems to have a consistent supply.

New Chewing Gum with a Buzz

Now we have Vibe Energy Gum on the market. Two pieces of which have the equivalent amount of caffeine as 1 cup of coffee. Do we really need this? How many people would stop at two pieces a day? Add to that cups of coffee and “energy” drinks and that is a whole lot of stress on the body in the form of caffeine raising blood pressure.

ZeroWater – flavoured water without sugar, http://www.zero-water.co.nz.

This bottled water comes in three flavours and uses Stevia (a natural sweetener) instead of sugar.

Recipes

Healthy Soup

You can freeze portions of this to use as a hot filler between meals when you are peckish. Use up any veggies lingering in the bottom of the fridge, there is no exact recipe needed. If you have zucchini in the garden or cabbage, these can be added too. In fact, shredded cabbage added towards the end of cooking bulks the soup out.

• 1 kilo of carrots
• 2 medium onions
• a few stalks of celery
• 2 capsicums
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes
• parsley if you have it
• 2 tsp chicken stock powder dissolved in 1 litre of hot water
• salt and pepper to taste
• Dried herbs can be added too, for extra flavour

Chop the fresh veggies and put in a large saucepan with the stock mix. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Add the tins of tomatoes and parsley, season to taste, then simmer for 5 minutes. You may need to add more water, depending on the type of veggies you use. Sometimes, having a bowl of soup can help you hold off until the next meal time if you are feeling peckish.

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Breasts – Serves 4

• 4 x 150g skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 tbs grainy mustard
• 1 clove garlic crushed (or 1 tsp crushed garlic in a jar)

Spray an ovenproof dish with oil and place chicken breasts in the dish.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together and spread over the chicken.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees. Uncover, baste with the juices and cook uncovered until cooked through.

Chicken Patties – Serves 4

• 600g lean chicken mince
• 2 level tsp pesto
• 2 level tbs chutney
• 1 tsp crushed garlic (from a jar)
• 2/3 tsp minced ginger (from a jar)
• Salt and ground black pepper

Mix all together well and form into 8 patties, the mixture will be fairly soft.

If time, refrigerate for 30 minutes to help firm up the mixture.

Spray a non stick pan with cooking spray and cook the patties until lightly browned each side and cooked through. Serve with a big salad.

Plan Ahead

Remember, if you are short of time for preparing meals, then planning ahead is essential. Take some time at the weekend to sit down and work out what you will be having for dinner during the upcoming week. Buy your chicken or meat in bulk on special, trim off any visible fat, portion it out and freeze in meal sized lots. If you like rice, then cook it in a big batch, cool in the fridge, portion it out on to gladwrap, parcel up and put in a plastic bag and freeze. A quick zap in the microwave and you have a portion of cooked rice.

Eating healthily doesn’t have to be complicated or take time if you do some forward planning. I’m always happy to help with ideas, just ask. It’s a lot quicker to make an omelette than it is to jump in the car and drive to a takeaway!

That’s it for now, the first day of autumn tomorrow after a wonderful, long hot summer. Get yourself sorted out now before you are tempted to hide the wobbly bits under baggy winter clothes!

Until next month.

Lynda