It is estimated that 40 million working days are lost due to stress and its effects, but for many people who reach retirement age it doesn't simply go away.

Some of you may be finding retirement just as, if not more, stressful than a day at the office.

Stress means different things to different people; indeed, you need a certain amount in order to stimulate your daily life. It becomes a negative factor when it goes beyond your ability to adapt and cope. If you have had a shock or bereavement, or if you have relationship or financial problems, you know -  and admit - that you are stressed. Sometimes although you may feel anxious or unhappy, you don't really accept that this constitutes stress.

There are other, less obvious, initiators of stress. Pollutants in the air, the onslaught of various chemicals in the water and foods you consume, or physical stress caused by a fall or accident. Excess coffee and alcohol can be stressful to your body too. Even not having any stress at all can be stressful to some people.

Fight-or-flight

The nature of stress has changed considerably over the last few thousand years, and to an even greater extent over the last century or so. You will no doubt have heard about the fight-or-flight mechanism. In an extreme case, this would shut down some bodily systems - such as digestion - in order to prepare you for actions not normally possible, such as vaulting a gate while being chased by a bull. The sheer physical exertion required to do that will burn up the adrenaline which has been released by the adrenal glands in reponse to the shock.

Most of today's stressors do not involve such feats, so the adrenaline which is released when you receive bad news or have a row with someone has no immediate way of discharging itself. Instead, it gets stored up within the body and can cause headaches, depression, anxiety, neck or shoulder or backache, poor digestion, and a general feeling of being tired all the time - a common complaint today. Any other condition you have, such as arthritis or skin problems, will be made worse as your immune system is lowered by stress.

So, whether the stress is acute or chronic, you need to do all you can to relieve its symptoms. Wherever possible, have some form of exercise or hands-on therapy such as massage to alleviate the physical symptoms, or you may feel it helpful to meditate or do deep breathing exercises.

So what has all this to do with nutrition?

All forms of stress consume your energy.  This is why it is important to eat particularly healthily while under stress, although it is best not to have a meal in the middle of an acute situation when your digestion will have more or less shut down.

Unfortunately, this tends to be the very time that we turn to convenience or comfort food with few nutrients, plus a large intake of coffee and / or alcohol. Although stimulants may seem like a good idea at the time, they ultimately consume energy at a faster rate than our ability to replace it and may eventually affect the central nervous system.

It has been suggested that the drugs most damaging to our vital energy, and hence to our long-term ability to cope with stress, are alcohol, heroine and opiates, tobacco, cocaine, barbiturates, anti-depressants, amphetamines, marijuana and coffee - in that order. Like stress itself, all these substances rob the body of nutrients in general, the B vitamins in particular. These are essential for energy release from food, so it is easy to get into a downward spiral.

Adrenaline - the stress hormone

One of the effects of adrenaline is to release glucose by breaking down bodily stores (known as glycogen) which are held in the liver and muscles. This allows you to have an extra burst of energy and to be extra alert during an emergency, but in the long term it causes blood-sugar levels to drop, with subsequent loss of energy, concentration and patience. Resorting to stimulants will eventually result in burnout.

When you are anxious and tense, every single muscle cell is consuming energy, and in order to stay in a state of tension they use up B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium. Other nutrients are consumed by the nerve cells which are activated, resulting in a higher need for other nutrients. In fact, you probably need at least twice as many vitamins, minerals and amino acids, although certainly not twice the amount of food, so a high-powered supplement containing the major B vitamins is recommended.

Because your blood-sugar levels are so affected by stress, you should eat little and often. Meals and snacks should be mainly of complex carbohydrates such as whole grains - brown rice, oats, millet, quinoa, rye - and their products - wholemeal bread, oat and rice cakes, wholegrain cereals; pulses (peas, beans and lentils); vegetables and fruit; small amounts of high-quality protein such as fish, chicken, eggs, cheese if tolerated, and some lean meat.

Above all, be relaxed while you are eating.

03/06/2009