You have probability already heard that stress can have a major influence on our well being, mood, behaviour and our immune system. But are you aware of the different types of stress?
These include physical, emotional, mental and nutritional stress.
It can be a combination of the different types of stress that can have the biggest negative impact.
Emotional stressors are the ones that hit us the hardest. They can make us cry, sleep less or sleep more, eat less or eat more, and can make it hard to face the day.
Nutritional stress or chemical stress is a new concept. It can be described as the wear and tear of your organs. Said to be caused by nutrient deficiencies and intake of toxic substances this new form of stress is hard to ignore.
About six years ago, before I even knew about nutritional stress I decided to ditch toxins and chemicals. I started paying attention to the products I was buying and using. I made the decision to stay clear from environmental toxins. I wanted to stay away from anything that could upset my gut health, hormones and natural detoxification mechanisms. It is one of the best decisions I made for my health.
Thanks to Alexx Stuart and other educators this way of life is much more mainstream now and there are so many great chemical free products on the market.
A common example of nutritional stress is how high levels of processed sugar generate a stress response in the body. Some are more sensitive to this than others, I know I experience this stress response when I over do it with processed sugar.
The results of chronic sugar intake can mirror the effects of chronic stress, including skin problems, heart disease, mood disorders, and depression.
Whether or not you believe there is such a thing as nutritional stress, science does tell us that certain foods can decrease the body's level of stress.
This includes foods that have high nutritional content, are easy to digest and contain minimal sugar.
I recently heard someone say, "they wouldn't put it in there if it wasn't safe". I wish this was the case and in an ideal world it would be.
For now I will continue to avoid chemicals and additives where possible. I do this by reading ingredients listed in all the packaged food and products I buy.
I recommend you completely ignore claims on the front of all packaging. They tend to be miss leading and can be labelled as healthy when they are not.
Study the ingredients listed, a good rule is if you can't pronounce it chances are your body won't recognise it.
You can also sign up to my mailing list to receive a copy of my Safe Shopping Guide. This gives you a simple list of chemicals and additives to avoid, making reading labels easy and knowing what to avoid easy.