Feeling stressed? Expert Shares Why It Could Be Caused by Nutrient Deficiency

Already feeling stressed in 2024? At the start of a new year, people are often running on a busy schedule, which can lead to experiencing stress in a variety of ways, including “food stress.”

Marina Wright, a nutritionist in Melbourne, Australia, said: news week Stress and nutritional deficiencies have a “bidirectional” relationship, each influencing the other.

“It’s important to remember that it’s not just emotional stress that triggers your stress response. Anything that challenges your body’s ability to cope with challenges, including nutrient deficiencies, can keep your stress response constantly on alert,” Wright said in a recent viral post on her Instagram account. account, @marinawrightwellness.

he said News week: “During periods of stress, the body experiences an increased demand for nutrients due to increased energy needs, nutrient mobilization, and support required for the stress response.”

Stress can affect the absorption of nutrients in the gut, Wright said, and “when the body lacks essential nutrients needed for optimal physiological function, it is subjected to a state of stress known as nutritional stress.”

“This goes beyond emotional or psychological factors, increasing the overall stress load on the body. The body’s inability to meet these nutritional needs can trigger the stress response,” said Wright, a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner and certified integrative nutrition health coach.

According to a March 2021 study, several studies have shown that “diet and nutrition are not only critical for physiology and body composition, but also have significant effects on mood and mental health.” Limits in Nutrition aforementioned.

A study conducted in August 2020 nutrients He said dietary change could prevent the development of “stress-related mental disorders, including major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Nutrient Deficiencies That May Cause Stress

Here are some key nutrient deficiencies that can contribute to stress and affect your overall well-being, according to Wright:

• Magnesium: Magnesium deficiency may be due to increased stress levels. Low levels of magnesium, which plays a role in muscle and nerve function, “can contribute to feelings of anxiety and tension,” Wright said.
• B vitamins, especially B6, B9 (folate) and B12: B vitamins are crucial for the synthesis of neurotransmitters that affect mood, such as serotonin, which balances mood, and dopamine, which affects the way we experience pleasure. “Deficiencies in B vitamins can lead to increased stress and mood disorders,” Wright said.
• Zinc: Zinc helps regulate the body’s stress response system. The nutritionist said low zinc levels are associated with increased production of cortisol, a stress hormone.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for brain health and play a role in neurotransmitter function. “Deficiencies can contribute to mood disorders and increased stress responses,” Wright said.
• C vitamin: As an antioxidant, vitamin C helps fight oxidative stress, which is an imbalance between antioxidants and free radicals that can lead to cell damage in the body. “A deficiency could compromise the body’s ability to manage stress-induced oxidative damage,” Wright said.
• Vitamin D: Vitamin D deficiency is “linked to mood disorders and increased risk of depression,” so adequate vitamin D levels are “essential for overall mental health,” the nutritionist said.
• ProteinWright said that amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, are “necessary for neurotransmitter synthesis” and that insufficient protein intake can affect your mood and stress response.
• vitamin A: This vitamin is essential for vision and immune function. “Vitamin A deficiency can impact overall health and potentially contribute to stress,” Wright said.
• Iron: Iron is important in carrying oxygen in the blood. The nutritionist said iron deficiency anemia can lead to fatigue and decreased resistance to stress.

Are There Foods That Help Reduce Stress?

“I believe it is important to maintain a balanced and varied nutrient-dense diet rather than focusing on specific foods,” Wright said. This should include a combination of “minimally processed, nutrient-rich foods” such as:

• Fruits and vegetables
• high quality meat
• Seafood, especially wild, oily fish such as salmon and sardines
• Eggs
• Quality dairy products
• legumes
• whole grains
• Nuts and seeds
• Spice

“Additionally, including fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, and kefir can be very beneficial due to their probiotic content, which supports a healthy gut microbiome,” the nutritionist said.

How to Be More Resistant to Stress?

According to Wright, “Stress resilience refers to the ability to adapt and bounce back from stressors, minimizing the negative impact on mental and physical health.”

“Although it is impossible to eliminate stress from our lives, it is certainly possible to become more resistant to it or raise our stress threshold,” he said. “We can achieve this through nutrition and lifestyle habits.”

Below are the nutritionist’s top tips for improving stress resilience:

Eat a Nutrient-Dense Diet, Balance Your Blood Sugar

Wright said a nutrient-dense diet and balanced blood sugar levels play important roles in “maintaining energy, supporting optimal brain function, regulating hormones, strengthening the gut-brain connection, and relieving inflammation.”

Support and Synchronize Your Circadian Rhythm

Our circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock, “holds the key to effective stress management,” Wright said. “A well-regulated circadian rhythm improves our ability to adapt and cope with stress by improving sleep quality, increasing cognitive function, and optimizing the release of cortisol and melatonin.” The second is a hormone that regulates your sleep cycle and circadian rhythm.

For example, exposing your eyes to natural sunlight in the morning, ideally within an hour of waking, and avoiding artificial light from electronic devices before bed “helps align your circadian rhythm, promoting these beneficial effects,” she said.

Increase Vagus Nerve Tone, Nervous System Flexibility

“The tone of our vagus nerve serves as a barometer of how easily we can switch between stressful and calm states,” according to Wright.

Vagal tone refers to the functioning of the vagus nerve, a cranial nerve that begins in a part of the brain that connects to the spinal cord and extends down to your neck and vital organs.

“A well-toned vagus nerve allows for smoother transit, promoting resilience and faster recovery from stressors,” the nutritionist said.

Practicing techniques used to regulate the nervous system, such as diaphragmatic breathing or meditation, “can help increase vagal tone and promote a balanced nervous system,” he said.

Exercise and Move Your Body Every Day

Regular exercise “reduces baseline levels of stress hormones and blunts the hormonal response to sudden psychological stress,” Wright said.

Regular exercise also “causes changes in gene expression” [where information encoded in a gene is turned into a function] “This increases mental stress resistance,” he said.

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