Understanding and Navigating the Impact of Stress on Body and Hormones

In today’s modern life, we are constantly being bombarded with stress from every angle.

It is important to intentionally counteract some of it, because the amount of stressors we face is absolutely detrimental to health. Stress can cause disease, it can block healing, and it can be really hard on your body.

But, don't worry! Your body is resilient and it knows what to do. Your body is designed to survive stress…it's very good at it! There are a lot of ways we can intentionally reduce stress on the body to help our bodies better manage what we can’t control.

First, let’s define stress. Stress is anything that deviates the body from balance. Your body is always trying to maintain its natural balance. This is called homeostasis. The body is doing its best to fight against all the odds stacked against it.

Any stressor pulls your body out of homeostasis and creates an involuntary response carried out by the nervous and endocrine systems, activating the sympathetic nervous system state. So anytime you face a stressor, just imagine your body fighting to get back to balance.

What Are Stressors

Stressors come in various forms—acute or chronic, endogenous or exogenous, distress or eustress. While we often associate stress with mom life, work deadlines, and emotional challenges, there are many other stressors impacting our bodies. Emotional and mental well-being is crucial and I firmly believe in dealing with these through therapy, etc. However, as a nutrition practitioner, I want to raise awareness of other types of stressors that are less often considered. Some other examples include:

• Acute viral illnesses (like catching your kid’s cold)

• Imbalances in the gut microbiome

• Air quality or toxins in your living environment

• Poor sleep quality

• Intermittent fasting

• Pregnancy

• Childbirth

• Coffee before breakfast

• Erratic blood sugar

• Excess sugar

• Inflammation    

What Happens In The Face Of A Stressor

When faced with stress, your brain signals survival functions. It releases hormones like epinephrine, boosting energy for the brain, muscles, and heart. If stress continues, cortisol is released, helping endure it longer. Cortisol increases alertness, releases glucose, and suppresses inflammation, aiming to keep you alive. But if stress persists, problems arise. Constant alertness hampers sleep. Constant glucose release harms muscles and blood sugar. Suppressed inflammation weakens the immune system. Triglyceride release affects cholesterol. Continuous stress neglects vital functions like sex hormones and detox. Cortisol production requires a precursor hormone pregnenolone. Pregnenolone is also needed for progesterone production. When pregnenolone is only being used to make cortisol, PMS symptoms arise and fertility and perimenopause struggles occur. Since we know ongoing stress disrupts your body's balance, hindering healing and causing hormone imbalances, reducing daily stress is essential for overall well-being.

Nutrient & Energy Depletion During Stress

Stress is a very expensive process in the body, meaning it uses up a lot of energy and nutrients. Some nutrients that are depleted during times of prolonged stress:

• Magnesium

• Vitamin C

• Calcium

• Zinc

• Selenium

Adaptation

Now, we all have that friend who can seemingly do it all without any apparent signs of distress, or maybe that’s you. The intricacies of how our bodies navigate stress might leave you wondering...

Allostasis is our body's adaptability, silently shifting resources to combat stress effects. Many, especially moms, may initially feel fantastic as their body reallocates resources to handle stress.

However, it's a delicate balance. Thriving for a while is common, but consistently pushing limits can lead to burnout. Burnout varies but often includes loss of energy, weight issues, muscle difficulties, recovery challenges, exhaustion, thyroid and adrenal indicators, autoimmune conditions, and diminished pleasure and excitement. Understanding this balance is crucial for well-being.

The tricky nature of cortisol can temporarily mask issues, creating a false sense of well-being. Your body adapts, making you numb to the cortisol levels. Elevated blood pressure and heart rate become your new norm. Cortisol, a stress hormone, suppresses the immune system, breaks down muscles, causes GI tract issues, and contributes to fatigue, aches, pains, and blood sugar problems. Increased inflammation boosts cholesterol to repair cells from cortisol damage. Your organs establish a new normal, but mentally, you may feel disconnected from excitement. Rest may trigger anxiety due to the cortisol addiction. Many women oscillate between adaptation and burnout phases.

How to Support Your Body Through Chronic Stress

Now that you know the far reaching effects stress has on your body and hormones, let’s talk about how to support your body through the stress and counteract some of the effects.

Nutrition

• Build nutrient stores by consuming a nutrient-dense, whole food diet and reduce processed foods.

• Support digestion to ensure proper absorption of nutrients.

• Eat balanced meals by pairing protein, fat, and fiber together for all meals.Consume a variety of colors in your diet to increase antioxidants that fight oxidative stress.

• Consider supplementing with vitamin C, magnesium glycinate or threonate, and a multi-mineral supplement (at the discretion of your doctor).

Lifestyle

• Spend time outdoors regularly. Sunlight in eyeballs each morning helps regulate cortisol levels and circadian rhythms. Nature itself reduces anxiety.

• Move your body each day.

• Create an evening wind down routine.

• Reduce toxins in your environment.

• Work with a qualified professional to support your emotional health.

• Find ways to have FUN!

If this resonates with you, download my Protocol for Chronic Stress here! If you want someone on your team to help discover the root cause of your symptoms, schedule a complimentary discovery call or take a look at blood work from an optimal health, functional lens.