Is Nutrition the missing link to your health?

Posts Tagged ‘stress’

Some good news for the chocolate lovers out there! A recent study found that 40grams of dark chocolate daily reduced stress over a 2 week period. In the study 30 subjects were classified in low and high anxiety traits using a validated psychological questionnaire. Biological fluids (blood, urine and plasma were then measured on 3 separate days during the test period. The researchers found that the dark chocolate reduced urinary excretion of the stress hormones (including cortisol) and partially normalised stress related differences in energy metabolism

In a recent study involving 42000 individuals, green tea was shown to improve the symptoms of psychological stress. Green tea has also shown benefits in other studies for weight loss, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimers and oral health

It has long been known that there is a strong link between chronic stress and obesity, but recent research has indicated that in addition to the stresses and strains of our own lives, the stress of the animals, fish and possibly the plants that we eat may also be contributing to our excess weigh – a concept called xenohormesis. Increasing pressures on the farming industry to produce large quantities of inexpensive food have led to animals being intensively reared in stressful conditions and researchers believe that obese livestock and unusual fat profiles in farmed fish are signs that we may be eating food that contains a stressed energy blueprint The thinking is that when we consume these foods our bodies begin to react so that we too become stressed and begin to lay down fat by increasing appetite and cravings for calorie dense foods.