As my previous post shows, stress is not just confined to the head, it has an impact on the entire body and can make a real dent to your physical well-being. Having said that, not many people come to me with the direct intention of getting support for stress-related symptoms. They may come with digestive complaints, or feel very low in energy. What often transpires during the consultation is that they have a number of different on-going sources of stress in their lives.

I recently saw a woman in her mid-thirties who complained about constantly feeling tired and run down and was finding it hard to lose weight. She had three year old toddler and had recently returned back to work. Juggling being a good mum and still having a career - not stressful at all! She also complained that she was beginning to get some IBS-like digestive symptoms and wasn't sure what was behind them. She was regularly propping herself up with cups of coffee, and often felt too tired after work to spend any quality time with her toddler.

We decided to check the current status of her stress hormone production through a saliva test. In long-term stress what tends to happen is that initially the stress hormone production increases, but if the sources of stress don't go away (which they often don't!) then the production will eventually decrease as the adrenal glands secreting the hormones get gradually more depleted. As you will also need these same hormones for daily energy production, having exhausted adrenal glands will also lead to generally feeling tired and lethargic. It can also lead to sleep disturbances, and make it harder for you to lose weight.

The test results showed that her adrenals had indeed entered the exhaustion stage, and were in desperate need of support. We modified her diet to ensure that she was getting more sustainable energy, and gave her specific nutrients to boost the functioning of her adrenal glands. Just three weeks into her programme she was already feeling far less croggy in the mornings, and had energy left in the evenings to spend some time with her toddler after work.

If you suspect you have stress-related symptoms such as tiredness or digestive disturbances, give me a call to have a chat about how nutrition could help move you from 'barely existing' to 'full of beans'.