Episode 9

Nutrition for Stress Relief & Resilience

In this episode of the Nutrition Edit Podcast, we delve into the unavoidable reality of stress and its impact on our lives.

Stress comes in many forms, some of which we can control and others we can't, like political unrest or environmental toxins. But regardless of the source, stress affects us all differently, influenced by our circumstances and resilience levels.

While we can't always eliminate stressors from our lives, we can manage our response to stress through healthy lifestyle choices. Today, we're focusing on how to use food and exercise to increase resilience and reduce stress, even when external stressors remain unchanged.

Interested in working with Jeannie? Schedule a 30-minute Coffee Talk here.

Connect with me on Instagram @joliverwellness and check out the options for my more affordable self-study programs here: https://www.joliverwellness.com/diy-programs

Music credit: Funk’d Up by Reaktor Productions

A Podcast Launch Bestie production


Download my Sleep Better Strategies cheat sheet here.


References:

Transcript
Speaker:

Hello, beautiful.

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Welcome to the nutrition edit podcast.

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I don't know about you, but just

saying or hearing the word stress

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makes me feel well stressed.

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We all experience stress to

varying degrees every day.

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And there are many stressors in this world

that we have absolutely no control over.

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Things like political unrest, war,

environmental toxins like air and

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water pollution and social injustice.

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These are all stressors that most of

us have little or no control over,

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although we can and absolutely should

get out and vote and do whatever

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we can to create positive change.

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But my point here is that stress is

an inescapable part of life, and how

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we react to these stressors is vastly

different from person to person,

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depending on each individual's response.

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Circumstances and resilience.

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Resilience is essentially a combination

of a person's mental and physical

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well being, or our ability to

bounce back and recover from stress.

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Thankfully, we do have some agency and

control over how resilient we are, and two

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of the most powerful tools that we have

at our fingertips are food and movement.

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So today I want to share with you

how you can use food and exercise to

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increase your resilience and feel less

stressed out, even if the external

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stressors in your life are not changing.

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So first let's talk about the difference

between acute stress and chronic stress.

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Acute stress is momentary or short term.

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So like when you're driving

and maybe you have a near miss.

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almost accident or someone cuts you off.

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Maybe you have to run to catch a plane.

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This is what's considered acute stress.

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It's short term, right?

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It's not ongoing and lasting.

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Whereas chronic stress

is long term or ongoing.

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And this is the kind of stress that can

contribute to health issues, disease,

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mental illness, including things like

high blood pressure, heart disease,

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obesity, and metabolic syndrome.

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Leading to type two diabetes,

it can contribute to depression

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and even chronic pain.

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If you have a very stressful job

or maybe a tense living situation

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where there's strife or abuse, maybe

you're a caregiver for an ill or an

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elderly parent or an ill child, or if

you're someone who is marginalized or

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subjected to racism over and over, these

are all examples of chronic stress.

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Another source of chronic

stress that I should add is

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trauma, which is all too common.

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Most of us have some level of trauma,

what's called either little T or big

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T trauma in our lives, but its effect

on our health is often overlooked.

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And research shows a direct link

between childhood trauma and

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chronic illness in adulthood.

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And I'll tell you, I've never personally

met somebody who has a chronic illness

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who hasn't also suffered significant

trauma at some point in their lives.

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Now, depending on your situation, you may

be able to remove certain stressors from

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your life, but that's not always possible.

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So when I talk about stress management,

I like to emphasize what you can do to

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help yourself navigate through the stress

in life in the healthiest way possible,

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because inevitably it's stress management.

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It's going to come up

at some point, right?

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No one can escape stress.

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One of the most common complaints that

people come to me with is chronic stress.

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And after working with me one on

one, one of the most common things

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I hear is that their stressors

haven't necessarily changed much.

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But they feel like they're

not as negatively affected

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by those stressors anymore.

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In other words, they're less stress

reactive and they feel more resilient.

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So let's jump in and talk about what

you can do to fortify your body and

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mind so that you're more equipped

to handle whatever comes your way.

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I want you to take a moment and ask

yourself, what are you most likely to eat

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or crave when you're stressed or anxious?

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What are the foods that

you're typically drawn to?

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Are you likely to eat more or to

eat less when you're stressed out?

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Some of us eat more, some of us eat less.

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When we're stressed, it's normal to crave

foods that stimulate the pleasure centers

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in our brain and make us feel good.

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I call these blissey foods or things that,

give you that kind of quick, Dopamine hit.

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But sadly, that only lasts momentarily

and those foods are highly addictive.

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And here's the thing that I

want you to remember, okay?

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Food can either be a source of stress,

or it can be a source of stress relief.

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And while we may not be able to

control our external stressors,

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we can control what we eat, right?

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Most of the time.

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Now, not everybody has full choice over

what they eat or access necessarily

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to healthy, nutritious foods.

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But today, I am, I'm talking to those

of you who do have access to good food.

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and have that choice available to you.

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So I want to clarify too the

difference between internal

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stressors and external stressors.

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External ones Can include things like

work, relationships, your finances

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different circumstances, like maybe

you're in the midst of a move or social

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media is a source of external stress,

the news is a source of external stress.

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Our perception is also a

source of external stress.

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So how we perceive something

can be a stressor as well.

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Internal, although that can be

argued that's an internal stressor,

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but I would say that's on the cusp.

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Internal sources of stress would

include a lack of sleep, poor

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nutrition, poor digestion, an

inflammatory or a high glycemic diet,

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caffeine and alcohol toxic load.

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So maybe you have, a heavy mercury load,

or you've got mold on this and exposure

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to lots of chemicals, things like that.

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Any other illnesses are sources of

internal stress, and then also too

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much or too little exercise can

be very stressful for the body.

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Something here to keep in mind,

that's also a major point I want

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you to take away from this episode

today, is that less internal stress

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equals increased resilience and

less reactivity to external stress.

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Okay?

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So food, as I've talked about

before, is so much more than

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just calories in, calories out.

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It is a chemical messenger.

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that tells our body what

to do or what not to do.

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Okay.

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You probably have heard me

talk about the donut versus the

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chicken breast illustration.

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How our bodies react to each is

drastically different and they

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stimulate different hormones

or chemicals in the body.

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All right.

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So for example, that chicken breast.

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is going to stimulate leptin.

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Leptin tells your brain,

Hey, I'm full, I'm satiated.

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You don't need to keep eating.

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It's also quite nutrient dense, right?

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Lots of protein.

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It's got some healthy fats,

minerals, vitamins, et cetera.

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Whereas a donut that's really loaded

with just empty calories, sugar,

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starch, inflammatory fats, both

have basically the same calories.

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If you're looking at your average

glazed donut and you're, maybe six

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ounce, skinless chicken breast.

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Okay.

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But that donut is going to

stimulate something called ghrelin.

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We often call that the hunger hormone.

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This tells your brain

like, Hey, keep eating.

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I'm hungry.

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Keep eating.

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And it's stimulated by these foods

that spike your blood sugar, but don't

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have any real nutrient density there.

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There's no real nutrition.

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There's nothing that's actually

feeding your cells or giving

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you nutrients that you need.

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So your body is essentially

saying, Hey, I'm not getting

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anything really useful here.

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You need to keep eating.

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That's why someone could easily eat

a few donuts before you felt full.

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You may feel sick before you

actually felt full and satiated.

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If you tried to eat more than

like one, maybe one and a half

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or two chicken breasts, you

would be stuffed to the gills.

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Like you couldn't, most

people can't do it.

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So that's just a simple example of, the.

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fact that food is so much

more than just calories.

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It's a chemical messenger.

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Okay.

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So when we're talking about what we want

to achieve with a stress reducing diet, so

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to speak, or, how we want to eat to feel

less stressed or be less stress reactive,

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the goals for this are the positive

outcomes typically that we want are going

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to be, Mental emotional and physical.

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Those are the two categories

that we're looking at.

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So on the mental emotional side, you

really want to have mental clarity

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and focus, increased motivation.

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We'd all like more of that, right?

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Less stress reactivity or more resilience.

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Like I mentioned before, less anxiety.

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That's a big one.

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And better interpersonal relations

or, better relationships.

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We feel more positive about

our interactions, right?

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We can communicate better.

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We maybe have less social

anxiety, things like that.

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And then physical benefits or outcomes

that we're seeking with this would

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be better energy, more sustained

energy, better sleep, increased

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stamina and athletic performance.

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This is really important for you athletes,

and I know there's a lot of you out there.

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An overall increase in your health and

being, of course, that's an obvious one.

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And then healthier hormones.

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So those are really key.

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And In order to achieve these outcomes,

here are the big points that we want to

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achieve when we're looking for, how to

eat for stress reduction, essentially.

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All right, this is what, this is

the to do portion of the program.

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So first you want to eat

nutrient dense foods.

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These are foods that are

high in nutrition, right?

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Vitamins, minerals,

antioxidants, things like, your

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macronutrients, plenty of fiber.

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Plenty of protein good healthy fats

healthy nutritious carbohydrates

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versus empty calorie carbohydrates

This is just about giving your body

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what it needs right nutrition versus

calories So we want to increase those

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whole foods like real unprocessed

foods These include colorful seasonal

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vegetables try to eat the rainbow.

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Don't just go for greens Get a

really wide range of colors clean

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responsibly sourced animal proteins.

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What do I mean by that?

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You know try to choose organic pasture

raised grass fed For things like eggs

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you want those from pasture chickens

free range cage free means very

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little And so look for pastured eggs.

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Wild caught fish is a big one.

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The smaller they are, the lower on the

food chain, the better because you'll

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have less exposure to those toxic metals

like mercury, cadmium, lead, aluminum,

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that unfortunately are really toxic.

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Prevalent in our oceans.

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Nowadays, nuts and seeds are

another great nutrient dense food.

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Dark chocolate or raw cacao.

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Now, this is not highly processed like

candy chocolate I'm talking about.

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It can be a candy, a dark

chocolate candy bar, but look

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for 70 percent cacao or above.

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I like to go for an 80

percent dark chocolate.

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bar.

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You want it to be organic because it's

a very heavily sprayed crop, but yeah,

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dark chocolate is one of those amazing,

feel good high antioxidant foods.

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It's actually pretty nutrient dense

and great for killing sugar cravings.

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Another wonderful food to incorporate

are fermented vegetables like

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sauerkraut and kimchi and then fruit.

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Fruit is wonderful.

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I think that fruit has been demonized when

we're talking, low sugar, low carb eating.

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And yeah, some fruit is very high in

sugar, especially your tropical fruits.

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So in moderation, I always say treat

fruit like nature's dessert and eat

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it instead of just having it on its

own, have it maybe as dessert when

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it's buffered by a meal that's rich

in protein and fiber, things that are

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You know, dampen that glycemic effect

that it has on you or any blood sugar

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spike that it would have on you.

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And really here, the point is just to

focus on eating more of these really

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whole nutritious foods and think

less about what you want to avoid.

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And, I've done a workshop on this before

and I had a whole slide showing like what

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our brain actually needs when we're super

stressed out versus what our brain wants

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or asks for when we're super stressed out

and the what our brain needs photo is all

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of these wonderful whole foods and salmon

and avocados and all these veggies, right?

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And the what our brains want.

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wants picture is the junk food, the

chips, the doughnuts, the sugar,

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whatever, sweet or salty, crunchy stuff.

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And even though your brain is asking

for that's not actually what you need.

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So for me, it's just helpful to remind

myself, Hey, yeah, my brain wants

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this, but what I actually need Are

the nutrients and building blocks to

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help me be more resilient and to cope

with stress better and to, create

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those wonderful neurotransmitters like

serotonin and dopamine and all those

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things that help us feel good and steady

and less stressed out, less anxious.

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Those foods are going to help your

body do what it needs to do so

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that you can actually feel better.

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Whereas those kind of quick dopamine

hit foods that are high in sugar

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high glycemic, quite inflammatory.

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They give you a momentary feeling of

okay, I feel a little bit better, but they

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really work against you in the longterm.

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So just keep that in mind.

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Another really important thing that

we want to do is boost digestion

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because you want to make sure

that you're getting the nutrients

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from the food that you're eating.

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You've all heard the saying, you are

what you eat, but in actuality, you are

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what you can actually digest and absorb.

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If you're not absorbing it, you could

eat the healthiest food in the world and

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you're not going to reap all the benefits.

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So quick tips for boosting digestion,

chew your food well and eat slowly,

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and try to be relaxed when you eat.

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Try not to eat on the

run whenever possible.

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I know sometimes that can't be avoided,

but try to eat in a calm, relaxed state.

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Ideally away from your computer or other

distractions, chew well, eat slowly, be

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present and just experience your food.

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Experiencing with others

is a wonderful thing too.

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And sometimes it helps to just take

a few deep breaths before you eat

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to calm your nervous system, put you

into more of that parasympathetic

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like rest and digest state.

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Okay supplementing with digestive

enzymes can be super helpful.

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So if you have.

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problems with digestion, or

you tend to get like gassy and

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bloated after every time you eat.

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Digestive enzymes can

make a huge difference.

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It can be super helpful.

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Insufficient stomach acid is

something that's really common.

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Stomach acid is also known

as hydrochloric acid.

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And if you're not producing enough

stomach acid, which can get down regulated

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when we're highly stressed, especially

for women, it will prevent you from

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absorbing things like B12 vitamins.

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You won't break down necessarily your

proteins well enough or fibers well

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enough to get the benefits from them.

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So you really want to make sure that

your digestive fire, so to speak,

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which encompasses everything from

like the enzymes in your mouth to

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the, enzymes, stomach acid bile,

pancreatin, all of these things that

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we produce to break down our food.

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So we want to support our body

to produce that digestive fire.

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And we can do that by, um, smelling

our food, looking at it, cooking

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for ourselves, all of those things

will stimulate digestion and eating

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slowly will help with that too.

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Sleep, all of these things

are really important.

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Another thing that people do often is they

drink a lot of water with their meals.

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I know that this is really common,

especially with people trying to lose

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weight because they feel like if I

have a bunch of water in my stomach,

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I'll feel fuller and I'll eat less.

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The problem with this is that it

can really dilute that stomach

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acid we were talking about.

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I want you to stay hydrated.

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You've heard me bang on about

drinking enough water over and

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over, and it's really crucial to be

well hydrated and to drink enough,

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but I'd love for you to avoid it

about 30 minutes before and after.

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If you're sipping a little bit with

meals, not a big deal, but don't

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like gulp down a giant glass of water

before a meal because that can actually

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diminish your digestive capability.

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Okay, next is reducing inflammation.

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So think of inflammation

as Internal stress.

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All right.

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Now, inflammatory foods are way too

prevalent in our world nowadays,

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especially in America, high sugary

foods, like high glycemic foods and

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it's going to spike your blood sugar.

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Those are inflammatory.

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Um, But also things like what we call

industrialized or highly processed or

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refined vegetable oils, things like

canola oil processed seed oils, soybean

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oil, peanut oil Sunflower and safflower

are really common ones that are used.

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All of these things are

highly inflammatory oils.

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And those are what are used in

restaurants because they're inexpensive.

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I mean, you're not going to find, you

know, coconut and avocado oil in, or

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ghee in restaurants, because those

are very expensive fats to cook with.

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So just keep in mind, if you're

eating out often, that is

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something that you want to have to.

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Just you want to be cognizant of try

to eat home at home more often and

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definitely take your omega 3s like

your fish oils to help just keep that

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balance of omegas, omega 3s to omega 6s.

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And it can help counteract that

inflammatory effect to some degree, but

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your best defense is cooking at home more.

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Additionally, inflammatory foods would

include just processed foods, fast food.

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If something is packaged and

it has a million ingredients,

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that's usually a big red flag.

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I don't have time today to get into

specific ingredients, but just look

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for organic foods that are minimally

processed and have fewer ingredients.

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That's the easiest way to go about that.

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And you want to just go for something

that's closer to its natural state, right?

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Poor quality animal proteins.

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So this would include anything that's

factory farmed or from feedlots.

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So yeah, again, going to be hard to

avoid if you're eating meat and poultry.

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in restaurants or outside the home.

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Now, if you're eating at someplace

that is truly farm to table, or is an

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organic certified restaurant, or is just

really careful at their sort, with their

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sourcing, that's a different story, but

those places are few and far between.

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And seafood again, if you're going

to eat seafood, which is what I often

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default to when I'm eating out, I usually

try to go for like wild salmon or.

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Something that's smaller

and lower on the food chain.

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So that's what I'm talking

about when I'm talking about

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poor quality animal proteins.

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Just try to get the best

quality that you can.

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Another thing that I would

really recommend avoiding

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is artificial sweeteners.

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These include things

like aspartame sucralose.

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What's the latest one?

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Oh, allulose.

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I had a whole episode on that last season.

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Check that out for sure.

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But all of these artificial

sweeteners are really problematic.

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Aspartame is a neurotoxin and they can

actually trigger more sugar cravings and

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cause issues with blood sugar regulation.

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So while they may not contain

sugar, they're still problematic

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and quite inflammatory.

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I was going to say something

else about that, but.

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It'll come back to me.

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Oh, I know.

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I was gonna recommend just organic

stevia or organic monk fruit.

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Things like Truvia um, monk fruit in the

raw, like a lot of those things have a lot

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of nasty additives that you do not want.

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So stevia and monk fruit are fine,

but just use them, in smaller

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quantities and make sure that they

are minimally processed and organic.

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Okay, next, regulating your blood sugar.

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This is really interlinked

with stress and anxiety too.

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If your blood sugar is all over the

place, that can absolutely cause anxiety.

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And it's a super stressor for your

body to have dysregulated blood sugar.

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So that's coming from those high

glycemic foods, anything that's high

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sugar, high processed starch, or,

simple sugar simple carbohydrates.

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Those foods are going to be the

ones that spike your blood sugar.

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And you want to kind of keep your

blood sugar as even keel as you can.

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You don't want big peaks and valleys.

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This is a big deal.

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It's really crucial for brain health.

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We talked about that in the last episode.

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But I'll tell you a little

story to illustrate that.

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Like when we're thinking about stress, we

have to think about the sympathetic and

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parasympathetic nervous system states.

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Okay.

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Sympathetic is when you're in

that sort of fight or flight

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state, fight, flight, or freeze.

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And parasympathetic is what

we call like rest and digest.

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That's when your nervous

system perceives safety.

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It's conducting bodily

functions in a healthy manner

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and everything's hunky dory.

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But if you go into a sympathetic state or

that fight freeze state, a lot changes,

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your body's going to shut down digestion.

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It's going to, increase and

produce stress hormones.

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I often tell the story of if you're

out walking or hiking on a trail and

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suddenly a mountain lion jumps in

front of you, what happens, right?

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Your pupils dilate, like you're going to

produce adrenaline and cortisol, which

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are these, quote unquote stress hormones.

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Your, Blood sugar is actually going to

increase because your liver is releasing

376

:

glucose to send energy to your big muscles

so that you can run like hell or jump

377

:

up and down and scare the predator away.

378

:

Now, the thing to keep in mind here is

that your cells don't necessarily, they

379

:

can't distinguish between running from a

predator and being under chronic stress.

380

:

All day, every day.

381

:

So we already have a stressful

lifestyle typically here in the U S.

382

:

So if you have a stressful life, just know

that you have to be even more vigilant

383

:

about your blood sugar regulation,

because you're probably already.

384

:

I won't go too much deeper into

that, but this is an important thing.

385

:

So trying to eat low glycemic food,

those nutrient dense foods, high

386

:

in fiber, protein healthy fats.

387

:

These things will help you

regulate your blood sugar.

388

:

And breakfast is really what sets the

stage for your blood sugar, your stress

389

:

hormone fluctuations throughout the day.

390

:

And it can dictate.

391

:

often cravings that you have at night.

392

:

So what you want to do is really

set yourself up for success by

393

:

choosing the right breakfast of,

it's high in protein, healthy fats.

394

:

I generally recommend avoiding

starchy carb or carbohydrate.

395

:

Dominant breakfast foods.

396

:

Okay, and then caffeine in the morning.

397

:

Again, I've talked about this before,

but I always recommend having food

398

:

for caffeine versus hitting your

system with caffeine on an empty

399

:

stomach, especially for women.

400

:

Men seem to tolerate this a lot

more and depending on your genetics.

401

:

You may be a really fast caffeine

metabolizer, but if you're somebody

402

:

who finds that you're having energy

fluctuations throughout the day,

403

:

cravings, especially at night or after

dinner, then you really might want

404

:

to try not having that caffeine on

an empty stomach because it's really

405

:

It's pretty stressful for your system.

406

:

It's hard in your adrenals and

it can mess with your energy

407

:

and hormones throughout the day.

408

:

Okay.

409

:

Moving on replenishing

nutrients depleted by stress.

410

:

This is a really big one.

411

:

In fact, I have an entire handout

for my clients that lists all of

412

:

the foods that are rich in the

nutrients that are depleted by stress.

413

:

So magnesium B vitamins, omega threes,

vitamin C, calcium, zinc, selenium,

414

:

antioxidants, and even protein.

415

:

If you're under increased stress, it

increases your need for these nutrients.

416

:

Okay.

417

:

So this is where you really want to

eat nutrient dense foods and possibly

418

:

even take a really good quality

multivitamin and mineral as sort of a

419

:

nutrient insurance policy, if you will.

420

:

That can be helpful.

421

:

But it should always come from diet first

supplements or just that they should

422

:

supplement a good nutrient dense diet.

423

:

Okay.

424

:

Oh, and one more thing

I'll say about that.

425

:

If you can think of your

body as a race car, right?

426

:

If it's driving faster, it

has more of a need for fuel.

427

:

So if you're putting more demand on your

body via, pushing yourself harder with

428

:

fitness, like you're training harder

or you have increased stress in your

429

:

life, you have more of a need for fuel.

430

:

An increased need for nutrients.

431

:

All right.

432

:

So just think of it like that,

like more stress, more nutrient

433

:

need, not more calorie need

necessarily, but more nutrient need.

434

:

They are different.

435

:

Okay.

436

:

Next big tip, reduce caffeine and alcohol.

437

:

And I know that this is a tough

one because typically when we're

438

:

stressed, what do we think?

439

:

I want to drink or I want a glass

of wine and then we're tired, right?

440

:

Because we're stressed out.

441

:

So in the morning, we kick the day off

with coffee and then we wind down with a

442

:

drink and it's just this vicious cycle.

443

:

Both caffeine and alcohol

are essentially liquid.

444

:

Stress because they both

stimulate production of our stress

445

:

hormones, particularly cortisol.

446

:

A lot of you come to me

complaining about belly fat.

447

:

Guess what contributes

to belly fat storage?

448

:

Increased cortisol.

449

:

Especially those of you who, like me, are

in perimenopause or are in menopause now.

450

:

This is a big one.

451

:

Alcohol is a huge

contributor to belly fat.

452

:

And if you want to keep off that minnow

pot, so to speak, I really encourage

453

:

you to cut out the alcohol, or be

really strategic when you do have it,

454

:

and minimize or eliminate caffeine.

455

:

Because those are two ways that you can

really manage that internal stress, okay?

456

:

And definitely avoid both on an empty

stomach if you're gonna have them.

457

:

Food will buffer the effects, and if

you do drink and you're having more

458

:

than one drink, have at least eight

ounces of water in between each.

459

:

This is another thing,

that women don't tolerate.

460

:

As well as men do typically

men will metabolize alcohol

461

:

and caffeine better than women.

462

:

So unfair, but that's just the reality.

463

:

Yeah.

464

:

So caffeine just really limited

avoided after noon, like 12 PM.

465

:

Typically it depends on what

time you go to bed, but typically

466

:

after 12 PM is when I tell people

like, just avoid it altogether.

467

:

And then also don't combine

caffeine with a lot of sugar.

468

:

I know.

469

:

I hear so many people say I'm so

struggling with my weight, or I'm really

470

:

anxious, and they are often the same

people who, in the afternoon, have

471

:

a big energy crash, and that's when

they go for a coffee and a pastry.

472

:

And it makes sense.

473

:

I understand that.

474

:

Like it gives you that quick boost.

475

:

You feel a little bit better.

476

:

It gives you a little break.

477

:

You have that treat, but it will

serve you better and you will feel

478

:

much better if you can replace

that with a different ritual.

479

:

Maybe make a cup of tea.

480

:

Preferably herbal tea if it's in the

afternoon, have something with good

481

:

protein, or eat half an avocado,

something that's really nutritious

482

:

that will actually increase your

energy on a cellular level versus

483

:

just giving you that kind of, hit of

adrenaline and that little dopamine

484

:

hit that's going to make you crash

again and put you back into that cycle.

485

:

Okay.

486

:

All right.

487

:

Next big tip for stress reduction is to

optimize your body's ability to detox.

488

:

And this is a huge subject, but

in short, you want to make sure

489

:

that you are eliminating properly.

490

:

So drinking plenty of water.

491

:

Yeah.

492

:

You'll pee often.

493

:

That's okay.

494

:

It's good.

495

:

You want to stay hydrated

in order to stay regular.

496

:

You should be pooping at least once a day,

if not twice, two or three times is ideal.

497

:

But one time is absolutely gotta happen.

498

:

You should be pooping every single day.

499

:

Sweating is a great way to detoxify.

500

:

Through exercise is the most effective

way, but sauna is also super helpful.

501

:

Breathing is another way that we detoxify.

502

:

I really notice personally that

when I'm under stress, I have,

503

:

I take very shallow breaths.

504

:

And I'll catch myself during my work

day, not breathing deeply enough.

505

:

We're taking full breaths.

506

:

So that's another one to

really pay attention to.

507

:

And if you're like me and you

tend to breathe shallow and you're

508

:

stressed, just check in with yourself.

509

:

Maybe even settle in an

alarm in your phone to remind

510

:

you, Hey, are you breathing?

511

:

And it sounds simple and silly, but it's.

512

:

astounding how many people are actually

not breathing well or taking full

513

:

breaths during the day or just will

stop breathing and then realize Oh my

514

:

gosh, like I've been holding my breath.

515

:

So breathing is key.

516

:

The other one is , lymphatic drainage.

517

:

So your lymph is the fluid that's in

and between all of your, organs and

518

:

tissues and bones and everything.

519

:

And it is a key component

of our immune system.

520

:

A lot of toxins and things are

dumped into that lymphatic fluid.

521

:

And the only way that we can get that

to circulate is through movement.

522

:

or massage.

523

:

It does not have a pump like our

circulatory system does with our heart.

524

:

So we have to either move or be

massaged in order for that lymph

525

:

to move and essentially, move

all that stuff out of our body.

526

:

Okay.

527

:

So getting regular massage is amazing.

528

:

Obviously, Move your body with exercise

is the best thing that you can do.

529

:

Dry brushing is a really great

thing for lymphatic drainage.

530

:

Jumping on like a mini trampoline

or rebounder is really, really

531

:

great for lymphatic drainage.

532

:

So those are all ways that you can

optimize your detoxification ability.

533

:

And of course, your diet is

a key component here, right?

534

:

Eating those nutrient dense foods.

535

:

whole foods, especially things that

are highly antioxidant and foods like

536

:

cruciferous vegetables, broccoli,

cabbage, cauliflower Brussels sprouts.

537

:

Those are really wonderful

liver supportive foods.

538

:

That can really support your body's

natural abilities to detoxify.

539

:

And like I mentioned before, we're

just exposed to a lot of gunk

540

:

in our daily lives that we don't

necessarily have control over.

541

:

And we often can't even see.

542

:

So supporting your body's

detox pathways is really key.

543

:

Another component here is sleep.

544

:

And while this may not seem to

you, like it's directly linked with

545

:

nutrition and exercise, it absolutely

is because your body is doing so

546

:

much work and so many important

processes are happening during sleep.

547

:

That's when we actually build

and repair muscle tissue.

548

:

We burn fat.

549

:

Your brain is detoxing.

550

:

You're healing.

551

:

There's so many things that are going on

and if you're not well Are you getting

552

:

insufficient sleep on a regular basis?

553

:

you will be less emotionally resilient.

554

:

You're going to be more stress reactive.

555

:

You will be more insulin

resistant, which is not good.

556

:

And you're going to have more sugar

and carbohydrate cravings, which

557

:

just make everything harder, right?

558

:

So sleep is really crucial.

559

:

And it's hard to overemphasize the

importance of sleep and how You

560

:

know, crucial that is so, definitely

make that a priority for yourself.

561

:

So here's some common food and beverage

swaps to throw out there for you.

562

:

And hopefully this will make things a

little bit easier for you to just move

563

:

in a better direction when it comes

to what you're eating and drinking.

564

:

So sparkling water is a great, nice thing.

565

:

There are a lot of really interesting non

alcoholic spirits out there right now.

566

:

Some are higher sugar than

others, so read your labels.

567

:

Just be cognizant of what you're having

and don't go for the high sugar options.

568

:

Kombucha, like a low sugar

kombucha can be great.

569

:

Or tea, like herbal teas.

570

:

instead of alcohol.

571

:

I personally love to make a pretty

little, mocktail or drink at home with

572

:

sparkling water and maybe some interesting

bitters or I'll mix it with one of

573

:

those interesting non alcoholic spirits.

574

:

I might sweeten it a little bit

with a couple drops of monk fruit

575

:

and I'll put it in a fancy glass

with a little sliced piece of fruit.

576

:

So it's a fun, relaxing ritual and

it feels like a really special treat.

577

:

Instead of going for the sugar

processed foods, go for those nutrient

578

:

dense foods, like I mentioned before.

579

:

So protein, produce, your

veggies, healthy fats.

580

:

Those are the things that are

really going to serve you.

581

:

Well, again, tea instead of

coffee can be less intense.

582

:

Even caffeinated tea can

be a little less intense.

583

:

A lot less stressful on

your body than coffee.

584

:

It seems to be easier on the

adrenals for most people.

585

:

Obviously this depends on how

much you're drinking, right?

586

:

Green tea, I am a huge fan of, because

green tea is actually very high in

587

:

L theanine, which is very calming.

588

:

Yes, it has caffeine, and it

can give you that little, it

589

:

can perk you up a little bit.

590

:

Give you that little boost, but it's

balanced out by that L theanine and

591

:

green tea is also incredibly antioxidant.

592

:

So that's a really great swap that I love.

593

:

As someone with ADHD, I find green tea is.

594

:

It's really helpful for my focus

and it doesn't give me the jittery

595

:

feeling that coffee often does.

596

:

So you might give that a try.

597

:

And then just keep healthy snacks on hand.

598

:

So nuts, seeds protein like,

maybe organic jerky or tinned

599

:

fish that you can easily access.

600

:

Avocado is one of my favorite things.

601

:

Having those on hand instead of

sugar or empty calorie foods.

602

:

is really helpful because there are

going to be times when you're like, I

603

:

need something and I need it right now.

604

:

And if you have something healthy

on hand, you're a lot less likely to

605

:

take that trip to, Starbucks or the

cafeteria or the candy bowl, whatever

606

:

it is, that's normally tempting.

607

:

That's not serving you well.

608

:

So those are my tips for

reducing stress with nutrition.

609

:

Exercise is also a really crucial thing.

610

:

And there has been a lot of

research lately showing that.

611

:

Regular exercise is as effective and

often, or sometimes more effective

612

:

than antidepressant medication

for depression and anxiety.

613

:

So moving your body is really crucial.

614

:

And look, this does not mean you

have to suddenly overnight become,

615

:

a gym rat and be working out

for an hour or five days a week.

616

:

No, just get out and walk.

617

:

In fact, walking and yoga,

walking, yoga, and strength

618

:

training, I believe were the three.

619

:

Things shown to be most effective

for better mental health.

620

:

So moving your body is, again, a stress

reliever if you're doing it the right way.

621

:

When it can become a source of

stress is if you're over training.

622

:

I see this a lot with the

women I call my cardio queens.

623

:

They come to me and they're doing

like five, six days a week, an hour

624

:

a day of spin class or a bootcamp

or, something really high intensity.

625

:

And they're doing too much of it.

626

:

With an already stressful lifestyle

and it's actually working against them

627

:

and becoming another source of stress

versus being a stress relief and That

628

:

can be tough because I know sometimes

that feels like a stress relief.

629

:

It's an outlet you're shaking off the

stress of the day What have you but I

630

:

really encourage you if you're gonna do

high intensity cardio workouts limit them

631

:

to 30 minutes Especially if you're doing

them really frequently I'd rather see you

632

:

Add in a couple of strength training days.

633

:

And maybe you do a couple yoga

days and then you do a couple,

634

:

30 minute high intensity cardio

days over the course of a week.

635

:

You may find you actually

get better results.

636

:

You feel less stressed.

637

:

Your sleep might improve.

638

:

You might have less cravings, less

hunger simply because your body

639

:

is getting more of that kind of

low intensity and restorative.

640

:

Exercise and movement.

641

:

And look, if you're someone who's not

into exercise yet, just start small, just

642

:

maybe get out and, especially now that

it's coming into spring, the weather's

643

:

a little better here in the Northwest.

644

:

I don't know where you are.

645

:

You may be in the Southern hemisphere,

in which case you're coming into fall,

646

:

different story, but just getting out and

walking is such a powerful thing to do.

647

:

And it's really wonderful.

648

:

You don't have to speed walk, just walk

as humans were meant to walk a lot.

649

:

And instead we end up sitting all day

long and it's really not good to be

650

:

indoors, sitting on our butts all day.

651

:

Even if you watch TV and march in

place, like this is super, super

652

:

helpful, just move your body, get

a little rebounder trampoline.

653

:

You can get them really inexpensively.

654

:

Do that while you're watching TV

in the evening or listening to a

655

:

podcast, whatever that is, right?

656

:

Just get some more movement in and try

and get it regularly because that is

657

:

a big needle mover when it comes to

reducing stress, depression, anxiety.

658

:

Okay and I'm going to include

a lot of references in my show

659

:

notes this time because there's so

much science behind all of this.

660

:

This is not just my opinion.

661

:

There is a lot of

research to back this up.

662

:

So I want you to access that

if you're looking to learn

663

:

more or you just want proof.

664

:

And at the end of the day, too, I want you

to remember that everybody is different.

665

:

There's no single way of eating

that's right for everybody.

666

:

However, we can pretty much rely

on, eating less processed, more

667

:

nutritious food as being consistently.

668

:

Good for our bodies.

669

:

All right, that may look a

little different for everybody.

670

:

So I'm not saying here oh,

you know You have to do this

671

:

or that or the other thing.

672

:

I think people get really dogmatic

about We have to do keto you have to

673

:

do You know Mediterranean or a specific

carbohydrate or whatever Look, there can

674

:

be really effective therapeutic diets

depending on your individual situation.

675

:

If you want to learn more

about that, I am here for you.

676

:

You can always schedule a consult with me,

but in general, it's so individual, right?

677

:

So you have to experiment.

678

:

And getting professional help

can be super helpful with that.

679

:

So let me know I'm here for you, but just

don't feel like, Oh well, you know, don't

680

:

be intimidated is what I'm trying to say.

681

:

I think that there's just so much

noise on social media and just.

682

:

out in the internet and media in general,

it can get so overwhelming and confusing.

683

:

And it really doesn't have to be just

start eating, start moving away from

684

:

the processed foods, eating more real

whole unprocessed things that are more

685

:

nutritious and focus on incorporating

more of those foods, try not to focus

686

:

so much on, I shouldn't eat this,

I shouldn't eat that, because that

687

:

will definitely make you think about

those foods all the time, right?

688

:

So focus on what you should

do, not what you shouldn't.

689

:

And remember too, that nobody gets

the stuff down perfectly or right

690

:

away, just start incorporating

what you can and then build on it.

691

:

Creating a healthy lifestyle and

a healthy diet is a skill and it

692

:

is going to take time to build.

693

:

So be patient with

yourself, but be consistent.

694

:

And when I say consistent, Just try

to make choices that serve you well

695

:

more often than not and often enough

to reap the benefits because if

696

:

you're not reaping benefits and not

seeing Changes you'll get discouraged.

697

:

So try to be consistent enough, especially

at first so that you can actually start to

698

:

see changes and Even if you're not seeing

results right away Stay the course because

699

:

I promise you are reaping the benefits.

700

:

You just may not see that either on

the scale or invisible ways right

701

:

away, but it certainly cannot hurt you.

702

:

It can only Benefit your

health your mental well being

703

:

everything To eat this way.

704

:

All right.

705

:

And don't try to wait until circumstances

in your life are ideal, right?

706

:

Because that's never going to happen.

707

:

And when we're under tremendous stress

or heightened stress, or in the midst

708

:

of hitting the fan in our lives, like

I realized fully that is a really

709

:

tough time, maybe the toughest time

to start making changes in our daily

710

:

routine when it comes to food and such.

711

:

But I want you to reframe to

think about it differently.

712

:

Think about.

713

:

treating your body and fortifying

your body in a way that will help

714

:

make you more resilient, that will

help carry you through those times

715

:

of stress versus just letting food

be an afterthought or a stopgap or

716

:

grabbing, something here and there on

the go, that's junky and inflammatory.

717

:

And that's just going to increase your

stress and make it harder for you.

718

:

And again, if you want help

with this, reach out to me.

719

:

There is so much more to cover here.

720

:

And I've actually done a whole workshop

on nutrition for stress relief for

721

:

companies like McKinsey and company.

722

:

I've done it for the association

for women in communications.

723

:

So if you're interested at all in offering

this workshop to your employees, or you

724

:

just want one on one individual support

to learn more about this and how you

725

:

can better Increase your resilience

and reduce stress in your life.

726

:

Message me, or schedule

a 30 minute coffee talk.

727

:

You can go to my website, joliverwellness.

728

:

com to schedule that, or you

can shoot me a message there.

729

:

And either way, I'd love

to connect with you.

730

:

I'm so glad you joined me today.

731

:

And I really hope you found the show

helpful and enjoyed the episode.

732

:

So until next time, take good

care of yourself and we'll see

733

:

you next week with a new episode.

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About the Podcast

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The Nutrition Edit

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About your host

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Jeannie Oliver

Jeannie is a Certified Nutrition Coach, NASM Personal Trainer and classically trained chef. She helps high performing women improve their overall health, optimize their energy and performance, and discover what it's like to feel good in their own skin - all while enjoying delicious food and creating sustainably healthy lifestyles.