Stress-eating: Five strategies to slow down

Weight gain has many underlying causes but one of the most common is something we all experience: stress. Whether it’s the, mild temporary kind caused by a traffic jam or major and chronic, triggered by a traumatic life event — stress is no friend to your waistline. It can set off physical and emotional changes that drive you to eat more, crave less nutritious, fattening comfort foods — and even gain weight much more easily. Stress-eating and cortisol “Stress drives up levels of a hormone called cortisol in the blood,” says Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal gland that helps to regulate your metabolism. It also plays a role in blood sugar management and memory. When levels of cortisol rise, it can promote inflammation and may spur the body to start stockpiling fat around the midsection. “Stress might also disrupt sleep and drive people to seek out food when they wouldn’t normally — such as in the middle of the night,” says Dr. Stanford. In earlier times this biological reaction to stress may have been beneficial, helping the body store up fuel for tough times ahead. But today, there’s typically no famine to outlast, no bear to outrun. Consequently, stress may just lead to unhealthy weight gain. Feeling stressed? Stress feels familiar to many of us. Yet some evidence suggests women are disproportionately affected by stress. A 2014 survey by the ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Diet and Weight Loss Health Nutrition Stress Source Type: blogs