When we think about 'stress', we generally think about events outside our control. You know the kind of thing - experts have compiled Top Ten lists of them. These lists vary, but generally 'death of a spouse or close relative' is at number 1 with 'divorce/separation', 'serious illness or trauma' and 'moving house' following close behind. The truth is that although many of these events are outside of our immediate control, we can learn stress management techniques that can help us to reduce the effects of stress that we might experience.
But what about stress that you are choosing?
Yup, that's right. You would think that we are all so keen to reduce stress in our lives, that there's no way we would choose stress. And perhaps that's true to an extent, but many of us are nevertheless making decisions every day that will increase our stress levels. The problem is, we don't even realise that we are doing it.
"It was a stressful time."
That last statement could be an acceptable response to a number of questions; I expect you can come up with 5 without giving it too much thought. Go on, have a go now. Think of 5 questions that might provoke the answer, "It was a stressful time." Done? Good.
Now I'm not usually a gambler, but I'm willing to bet my PC that you didn't come up with this question, "How was your breakfast?"! No, I thought not. And yet, if your breakfast included coffee, sugar, sausage, bacon or ham, anything fried, milk, butter or cheese, margarine or other processed vegetable oil and anything refined or containing additives/preservatives, then your breakfast, whether you know it or not, was indeed a stressful time - for your body!
A good diet is vital for keeping you healthy and reducing your stress levels. Certain foods and drinks are powerful stimulants and are therefore a direct cause of stress to your body. They will overtax your liver and upset your blood-sugar levels and though you don't know it at the time, they are harmful over time.
And those foods listed above are not the only 'stressor' foods; you can add alcohol, red meat and spicy foods too.
Now if you are thinking, "hey, just wait up there a minute! That's like everything any normal person eats!" Well, yes, sadly it is. And that's probably why we are seeing an increase in obesity, diabetes, asthma, liver disease, digestive problems etc.
I found out the hard way just how stressful a standard 'western' diet can be. This type of diet has been labelled a SAD diet (standard American diet) by those working in health and nutrition, but America isn't the only country with mass-produced, refined and processed foods adorning the supermarket shelves. I live in the UK and the diet here is much the same as in the US. I've been a vegetarian for 25 years, so I always thought I was doing okay. But looking back, my old diet, for many years, consisted of lots of cheese, sugary 'dead' yoghurts, refined bread, pastries, cakes and biscuits, crisps, canned drinks, coffee, alcohol, take-outs and pizzas. And I smoked. I did eat a lot of vegetables, but they were generally 'nuked' or processed to death in the form of microwave and ready-meals. Little wonder then, that the continued stress on my body resulted in the eventual diagnosis of not one, but two dreadful digestive conditions Ulcerative Colitis and Crohns Disease.
The good news is, that despite accepted medical opinion that these conditions are incurable and chronic, I 'cured' myself from both simply by changing from a SAD to a wholefood diet. And if you are wondering what there is left to eat once you eliminate all of the 'baddies' mentioned above, I can assure you, the choice is enormous and my meals are more interesting and delicious than I ever believed they could be, eating this way.