Anti-Stress Diet for Parents

Fight or Flight Response

When you are looking after tricky kids you need to take extra care of yourself so that you do not end up feeling so stressed that you can’t cope.

Millions of years ago, our bodies were designed to react quickly to danger. Like wild animals we were on constant alert so we could run or fight if threatened. When your brain thinks your life is in danger it stimulates the release of the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol.

This fight or flight response is incredibly clever and thoroughly efficient. It provides instant energy for 5-10 minutes allowing you to react swiftly to dangerous situations.

These days, many of us live under chronic stress. But our bodies can’t distinguish between late trains, missed appointments, spiralling debt, infuriating work colleagues, family disputes and the truly life-threatening stress it gears up to challenge. So it reacts exactly the same as it’s always done.

If you look at these symptoms they look exactly like the symptoms of stress: irritability, aggressive outbursts, palpitations, lack of sex drive, crying spells, dizziness, anxiety, confusion, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, fatigue, insomnia, headaches and muscle cramps but these symptoms can be due to your pattern of eating and occur when your blood sugar drops.

So even though you may not be able to control the stress going on outside, you can help to control how stressed your body feels by changing your eating pattern. Every time your blood sugar drops, your body releases the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, so by controlling your blood sugar you are reducing how stressed you feel.

Follow these 3 simple steps to get your blood sugar under control:-

1. Eat little and often.
Don’t leave longer than three hours without eating. Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a snack mid morning and one mid afternoon. As your blood sugar steadies, so will your mood swings and you will automatically start to feel happier and calmer inside.

2. Don’t skip breakfast.
Your blood sugar will automatically drop overnight and if you miss breakfast completely then by mid morning adrenaline will be released and your body will be looking for a quick fix like a coffee and biscuit.

3. Reduce or eliminate all stimulants including sugar, coffee and refined carbohydrates (like white bread).
Avoid any foods that make your blood sugar rise quickly because as blood sugar drops again your body releases adrenaline.

Because your body has been under constant stress for so long, it will usually need a bit of extra help to get its functioning back to normal, and to reassure it completely that it’s not under constant attack. You can get this extra help in the form of supplements and herbs.

  • Chromium

    One of the most important minerals for helping to control the blood sugar roller coaster.

  • Magnesium

    Magnesium is known as ‘nature’s tranquilliser’ and helps to calm you down and balance blood sugar.

  • B vitamins

    The B vitamins are known as the ‘stress’ vitamins and are important to take when working on nourishing and calming the adrenal function.

  • Siberian Ginseng

    This herb acts as a tonic to the adrenal glands. It helps to combat stress and fatigue when under pressure.

There is a good multivitamin and mineral called Tranquil Woman Support (it is also good for men!) which contains all the above nutrients and more, see:

http://www.naturalhealthpractice.com/Tranquil_Woman_Support_P1970C339.cfm

Changing the way you eat may not seem easy in the first few weeks but please persevere because you will start to see the changes fairly soon and adding in a few supplements can make the process faster.

Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD is the UK’s leading nutritionist specialising in women’s health. Dr Glenville is the author of a number of internationally bestselling books including ‘Natural Health Bible for Women’, ‘Fat around the Middle’ and ‘Overcoming PMS the natural way”. She has two clinics, one in London and one in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you are interested in a consultation you can contact Dr Glenville’s clinic on 0870 5329244 or by email: or visit www.marilynglenville.com.