Stress and Nutrition and Binge Eating Disorders

Stress and nutrition might not be an obvious connection we make when thinking about dealing with stress. But there are very real connections between how and what we EAT, and how we FEEL!

And if we are struggling to recover from eating disorders or binge eating problems, then it becomes even more important to address this vital area.

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So what are the connections between stress and nutrition and Binge Eating Disorders?

• Well - problems such as Binge Eating and Bulimia can lead to nutrient deficiencies in our bodies because the repeated bingeing is often on fatty and high sugar/refined carbohydrate foods, and because of the effect of repeated purging in the case of Bulimia.

• If our bodies are not getting adequate nutrition in the form of vitamins, minerals, protein and healthy fats, then not only can this can lead to poor health, but also to increased food cravings which are such an integral part of many eating disorders.

• Chronic stress itself can deplete our body of important vitamins such as C and B Vitamins. A deficiency in vitamins and minerals can also add to symptoms of anxiety and irritability, further reducing our ability to cope effectively with feelings of stress.

• And of course stress is a frequent trigger for binging and ‘comfort’ eating. High stress levels and eating disorders often seem to go hand in hand. So these areas are ALL connected!

The Stress and Nutrition Cycle

Blood Sugar Control and Stress Hormones

One of the most important connections between dealing with stress and nutrition, is in the area of blood sugar control and how this impacts upon our stress hormones Adrenalin and Cortisol. These stress hormones are responsible for the unpleasant symptoms of anxiety and fear that we get we feel under a lot of stress.

Read our pages on Blood Sugar Control and Stress Hormones to learn more about the connections between how we eat and our stress hormone response, and just why eating regular meals spaced throughout the day is so important in helping us in dealing with stress.

Protein - Stress and Nutrition

Another important area in the ‘Food and Mood’ connection is around ensuring we get enough good quality protein in our diet. Protein is of course essential for our bodies repair processes, but it is also necessary for Tryptophan and Serotonin production (important brain chemicals) which some research shows are involved in impulse control and depression. Read our other pages for more about the Serotonin connection.

Having some good quality protein (which doesn’t necessarily mean eating meat all the time!) with every meal can also ensure that our meals last us longer and we feel satisfied for longer. A meal predominantly of refined carbohydrates is digested very quickly, and so we can feel hungry again surprisingly soon afterwards.

Vitamins and Minerals

As discussed above, Binge Eating and the effect of purging in Bulimia can deplete our bodies of nutrients. The best way to address this is by ensuring we are getting plenty of fruits and vegetables in our diets, which will help ensure we are receiving a regular supply of a wide range of vitamins and minerals. And of course, fruits and vegetables also give us lots of fibre and fluid and are great for improving our health in so many ways.

Adequate Water Intake

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If we are not getting enough fluids in our diet, then we are far more likely to feel tired and muddle-headed because our brains and bodies work better when well hydrated. And we all know that we tend to feel stressed and irritable more easily if we are tired!

Now this doesn’t mean to say that we need to be guzzling down bottles of water all day long. But ensuring that we drink regularly throughout the day (while making sure that we keep sugary, caffeinated or alcoholic drinks to a minimum) will help to ensure we are keeping well hydrated.

Healthy Fats – Do you need more Omega 3?

Our modern western diets tend to be low in Omega3 Essential Fatty Acids (called ‘essential’ because our bodies cannot manufacture them – we have to get them in our diet). Some research suggests Omega 3 fats have beneficial effects on mood stability and that they also have an anti-inflammatory effect. Research is sometimes controversial and is always continuing in this area, but there does appear to be general agreement that our modern diet is often deficient in Omega 3’s, especially if we eat a lot of processed and refined foods.

To increase intake our Omega 3 healthy fats, the easiest way is to eat more oily fish such as fresh tuna, salmon, sardines and the like. Or take a flax seed oil supplement, or regularly sprinkle some crushed flax seeds on our breakfast cereal.

Minimise Alcohol, Caffeine and Sugary drinks

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Why would we want to do that then? Well, this is perhaps one of the other most important connections between dealing with stress and nutrition. This is because they all act as stimulants, which in turn will activate our stress hormone response and also have an impact upon our blood sugar levels.

Although we may feel that we enjoy an alcoholic drink to help us calm down, or a strong coffee or sugary drink to give us a bit of an energy boost, regular use of these will all actually add to our levels of stress.

If during an average day we are consuming several caffeinated and/or sugary or alcoholic drinks, it means our bodies are continually being stimulated into releasing Adrenalin and Cortisol. We might feel better temporarily from the sugar or caffeine ‘high’ but our underlying stress levels are being constantly inflamed.

So if you do consume these types of drinks on a regular basis, try to reduce them and see what happens over time to the way you are feeling.

So that provides us with a very brief overview of some of the connections between stress and nutrition.

Perhaps some of the most important points we can take from this are:

• To eat regular meals throughout the day EVEN IF STILL BINGE EATING OR PURGING. This is important to regulate our blood sugars and so minimise the knock-on effect to our stress response system.
  
  
• To increase our understanding of what good nutrition means. It doesn’t need taking lots of supplements (unless there is an actual medical reason and under supervision of a doctor or dietician). However, if we have been having disordered eating patterns for a while, then a good quality multi vitamin and mineral supplement could be beneficial until our eating habits have improved.
  
  
• Start to use food positively. Food is a natural way we can look after ourselves! Follow the accepted healthy eating guidance such as the Food Pyramid in the US or the ‘Eatwell’ plate in the UK as much as you can.
  
  
• Make small but ongoing healthy changes to our eating habits. Don’t try to do it all at once, but over time, build one positive change upon another.

So as part of our treatment or self help plan, we can now see how stress and nutrition affect each other and why it is important to build in steps that we can take in order to improve our nutrition. Not only will this help to improve our over all health, it will also benefit us in dealing with stress, and possibly help to control some of the food cravings we may be experiencing.

There are many connections between stress and nutrition, and we have just given a brief introduction here. By continuing to learn more and building one small healthy change upon another, we can continue to move toward good health and (combined with the other measures outlined in this website) hopefully a future free from eating disorders.