Friday Apr 22, 2022

Stress and nutrition go hand in hand

On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University instructor, Jessica Phelan shares information about stress and nutrition.

Transcript:

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James Bell

Stress and nutrition can go hand in hand to impact health from Fort Hays State University Health and Human Performance instructor Jessica Phelan stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.

Jessica Phelan

I was really excited to talk about stress and nutrition. This is an area that I think right now, I don't know about you guys. But as school people, we're having some stressful moments, we've got graduation, there's prom, we're wrapping the school year up, which is so exciting. But you know, that does come with some positive and negative stress as well. So I thought today, we could just talk about stress in relationship with nutrition in general. So yeah, I

James Bell

know, in my world, and absolutely, I think for just about everybody, it's a busy time of year because if you've got a parent or even if you're an aunt or uncle, oh, my goodness, so much school stuff going on, and music performances and downtown arts things and all kinds of good stuff. But I know that yeah, in my world, as soon as that starts to hit, it's we're grabbing for the pizza. You know, we're getting the McDonald's, we're getting the chicken nuggets, the the health or the food, that's not necessarily the healthiest

Jessica Phelan

for you. Yes. So love that you brought that up. So whenever I think about stress and nutrition, I think about it in kind of three ways. So the first that you said, when times get stressful? What do we choose to grab? Well, if you're like me, I'm dropping my coffee, my pizza, you know, the easy and quick things. And so here's the thing that's completely normal. And you know what you got to do what you got to do. But, you know, there are a couple of tips that you guys that I would love to share with you about, you know, how do we plan for those stressful moments. And so, a couple of things that you could do that I've actually been doing lately, which has been really, really fun, is I am fortunate to live in a town where I have siblings close by and you know, my family close by. And so it was about a semester ago, I called my sister and I said she, she's a teacher, too. And he said, I need some help, I'm stressed, I'm grabbing these things, I'm not feeling like good, it makes me feel, you know, kind of kind of gross when I'm eating that way. And so we started to actually assign days where we share meals. And so a kind of a take home tip for you is if you are a college student, or if you're somebody that you have some support in your town, one thing that you could do to potentially help with that relationship of, you know, when I'm stressed, what do I grab those convenience things are set up some shared meals, we've been doing this where I think I cook on Tuesdays, my sister cooks Mondays, and let me tell you, it has been changed my world just to know that, you know, I really have some time to think and plan out a really nice healthful meal on Tuesdays, and my sister does the same for Mondays. And then my brother and sister in law. And my parents also do too. And so it's been really fun. And I was thinking about this before it came in. And you know what if you're a person that maybe you have one family, and you don't have the accessibility of a sibling, you know how lucky that I am, somebody that you might be able to do is in your family unit event. So say you have husband, wife, you've got an older kid, say let's make this really fun. And let's assign one day that we get to cook. And so that person kind of takes that responsibility for the day. We've been doing that lately, and it has just been like world changing. Fabulous. So that's kind of a suggestion for maybe, you know, when you're stressed, and you're trying to grab something quickly. Let's have a game plan and plan. Yeah,

James Bell

so thinking ahead really is and yeah, you have to have those connections too. But, you know, I think that's maybe true, kind of in a lot of stressful situations, right. With planning, you can alleviate some of the stressful parts of the situation.

Jessica Phelan

Yeah, absolutely. And I think to that, healthy doesn't have to mean fresh, like, you know, there's like this continuum of balance, right, where, you know, you can still eat well, and use those conveniences. And so I always like to think about, you know, my time as it's so valuable. And sometimes we just don't have the time or to pre plan. And so, you know, frozen foods are great, don't discredit those canned foods are awesome, too. And so I think that that's one part is that not being quite so rigid that you can definitely, you know, use those conveniences to your advantage as well.

James Bell

Yeah. And then if you have to grab some fast food now, and again, that's really you know, it's the moderation piece. It's the not doing it every day that really gets people into trouble.

Jessica Phelan

Absolutely. Another way that I really like to think about stress and nutrition, and this is a kind of a relatively new area of study, I would say is does what you eat. So is your nutrition going to increase or decrease your stress?

James Bell

That's exactly what I was curious about looking my little I drew a little circle chart here as we were talking, because I was what I wanted to know about is like because I imagined it does worse you feel the more stressful you're going to be and then the worse you feel, then you're doing it again and it just gets it's a cycle,

Jessica Phelan

isn't it? Yes. And so I'm so excited you brought this up because this is something that I find so interesting that if you know if you are feeling stressed and you're thinking okay, what can I do? I don't have more time in the day, I can't eliminate these things. Let's look at our diet, that might be a stress management technique, which I think is just radical to think about that if we can potentially choose things that are more helpful, your fruits, your veggies, dairy products, lean proteins, you know, everything that you've been hearing for forever, if we can start to potentially eat more healthful, would it help with stress? Would it help with mental health, depression, etc. And right now, evidence is low studies are still being conducted. But man, there are some really exciting evidence that suggests Yeah, Heck, yeah, if we can start eating well, then maybe that could potentially reduce your stress. And so that could be a potential technique, for those of you that are really feeling overwhelmed right now. That that are maybe having some mental health type of issues that if we can change our diet, it might potentially help us to feel better. Yeah. So cool.

James Bell

Yeah, have an impact, at least I mean, and why not? I like to think of it in terms of well, what's the worst case scenario you eat better? Maybe you get a little bit better shape? It's it? No, there's there's no losing in that situation?

Jessica Phelan

Yeah, exactly. And, and that's the thing is, the best that we can do is just try. And so I always like to talk with my students, and I'm in the classroom of, you know, it's a tough nutrition is tough. There's a reason that, you know, I pursued this area, because it was something that I struggled with, too. And then over time, I think that you just become better at it. You become better at understanding, you know, what's happening in my body. And when I eat that food, how do I feel? Does that make me happy? Do I feel bloated, and sluggish? Because I don't know about you, it's we're getting ready for summer, I want to be outside more, I want to feel good. I want to have less stress. And so yeah, I think that that's another tip that I have actually is, you know, if possible. If you're feeling overwhelmed, or feeling depressed, try to grab those fruits, those vegetables first and then reevaluate, see how you feel, instead of eliminating maybe some of those fun treats, just crowding the good, and then see where that takes you. Because here's the thing, it's all about moderation. Nobody's perfect. And I think the best that we can do is try.

James Bell

Absolutely. You know, I'm curious too, about the nutritional aspect. And Glenn is always we talk a lot about this in this segment, you know, the the fat soluble vitamins and how important they are to keeping yourself healthy. And I think, you know, this, a lot of those convenience foods that we think of their nutrient deficient, there's not a lot of good things there. And I wonder if you wanna talk a little bit about that, like, how does that impact wellness as well?

Jessica Phelan

Yeah, sure. So I like to think about our diets as this really integrative process of looking at, you know, what's your, your environment? Like? What are some social factors that are gonna influence what you eat. And at the root of that, though, we have to make sure that we're getting those essential nutrients. And so we know we have these macronutrients that provide us with energy that are really positive, those are your carbohydrates, your fats, your proteins. But sometimes those vitamins and minerals are overlooked. And it's overwhelming. If I'm going to be completely honest, it is overwhelming to think about where are all these vitamins and minerals located? And how do I get those in my diet. And so I was talking with my sister who again, she's another educator, and I said, when in doubt, eat your dark leafy greens, choose fruits and vegetables, from, you know, all colors of the rainbow. And when you're doing that, and you're listening to your body, you're gonna get those vitamins and minerals in. And so even when you're trying to, you know, do things at a convenience, if you can, try to pull in those, you know, richly colored fruits and vegetables, those lean proteins, because those are going to help you with your micronutrient intake. So your vitamins and minerals. And over time, if you can do that, then those are going to help with your general functioning. So your health preventing sicknesses, how your metabolism works. And so those are also a major and essential part of just being healthy in general. And so, you know, there's a lot of science that goes behind micronutrient metabolism and how they interact with the macronutrients in the body. But my best advice for just the layperson and my students and how I like to think in my head is eat variety, moderation, have an adequate diet and try to be balanced. So those are the four things I like to remember. Righty moderation, adequacy and balance.

James Bell

Easy peasy. Easy peasy. You know, we've got, we've got just a minute or so left here. But I also wonder about, you know, one of the things that I have a nutritionist friend and she's kind of trying to guide me down this the same path that we're talking about today. And one of the things that she is quick to point out is it's the activity pieces, well, if you eat better, you're going to feel more energetic and you're going to you're likely to move more, which is another benefit of delimiting stress. You sure is a helpful way to help mitigate that stressful feeling, I guess I might say

Jessica Phelan

Yeah, absolutely. So in HHP a we are are incredible supporters of just movement. And so I love to just say just, you know, try to move as much as possible. You know, in your day, if you can go and go on a short walk for five minutes to your car to grab something and come back to your office, that's going to improve your mood. When you're exercising, it makes you happy, it releases these happy endorphins. And it that's gonna help with your stress relief as well. Also, if you can get outside with your exercise, that's a good double bonus, because you have the vitamin D, and it just makes you feel good. And so I think what is so fun about this topic is that there's so many interrelated parts that really, if you want to start to become healthier, and reduce that stress, be active, try to eat a little bit better drink your water, you know, have conversations with your friends, there's so many things that are interrelated, that anything that you do is really going to help your stress levels. Activity is so powerful and movement is so powerful for your energy, your happiness, fighting off chronic diseases, you know, there's just so many benefits that if you can, you know, in your schedule in your head, trying to plan those 510 minutes. Research suggests that 10 minutes of activity three times per day is sufficient in order to improve your health. And so you know, I was talking with my mother and I was we were just talking about how sometimes it's hard to fit that in and when went to research and found that yeah, if you can just do 10 minutes so 1010 minutes of activity three times per day, that's still going to give you as much benefit as if you were exercising for you know a long long bout. You know anything is better than nothing and it is going to help reduce your stress in the long run.

Stress and nutrition go hand in hand

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