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Alethea Mills Nutrition

BHSc Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine

11 Ways to Decrease Stress & Support Immune Health

April 1, 2020 by aletheam Leave a Comment

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I’ve mentioned a few times on posts and you have probably heard it thrown around a bit lately, the association of stress and the impact on the immune system and why in the current environment these are both so important.

How does stress impact the immune system?

When demands on the body exceed the ability of our body to cope and deal with the current demands is when we experience stress.

Stress is not always bad for the body to experience, acute stress, such as exercise is positive for our body. This is the type of stress that we might experience over an hour training session or at a time the body senses and emergency, then the body has time to relax, be calm and reset. It is our “fight or flight” mode, our in-built survival system. We build resiliency from acute stress, simple short episodes that we have the time to recover from.

However, chronic or long term stress, particularly for an undetermined time, has a negative effect on health. It can lead to an overactive or underactive immune system and a loss of the immune systems natural ability to regulate. This can increase risk of infection and decrease the ability to fight infection when encountered.

Latent viruses in the body such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Human papillomavirus (HPV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) can produce physical symptoms when the body is under chronic stress. You may notice a cold sore appear, fatigue or joint aches. When we are relaxed, and chilled the immune system can keep these guys under control, however in times of chronic stress the immune system can’t keep up.

How do you know if you are experiencing stress?

  • Holding your breath, shallow breathing, suddenly requiring a deep breath
  • Increased heart rate or feeling a “booming heart”
  • Tongue pushed up on the roof of your mouth
  • Lack of concentration & difficulty focussing
  • Brain fog
  • Lighter menstrual bleed, skipped menstruation or a lengthier cycle
  • Bloating and inconsistent bowel motions (diarrhoea/constipation)
  • Disrupted sleep and waking feeling fatigued
  • Feeling irritable, snappy, anxious and/or depressed
  • Craving sugar and additional carbohydrate intake
  • If you are a human living through the current global pandemic

**it is worth noting, these symptoms can be from a range of health conditions and if you are experiencing them, your natural health practitioner can support you in finding and addressing the root cause**

BOOK APPOINTMENT

What to do right now?

  • Stop watching every news update on COVID-19.
  • Give yourself 20 minutes each day where you can talk about the “C” word & then move on.
  • Communicate with positive people. Realistic positivity is important right now, it’s a tough time, it’s not sunshine & rainbows, however, a positive focus will help.
  • Take it day by day. Don’t think too far ahead as this can become overwhelming.
  • Deep breathing and meditation.
  • Yoga & Exercise (FYI it’s not the time to be pulling out the three-hour runs).
  • Fresh Air & Sunshine.
  • Let go of high expectations, if you feel you need day reading a book and chilling out, then do it.
  • Eat a diet rich in vegetables, legumes, beans to gain essential vitamins and minerals. A quality multivitamin can support the additional nutrients needed in times of stress.
  • Quality sources of protein to support the production of neurotransmitters which are in high demand in times of stress.
  • Connect. We live in a world of technology that enables us to be socially close whilst being physically distanced.

If you would like guidance and support working through the next few months or feel some of these symptoms resonate with you, I can help.

BOOK APPOINTMENT

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254075461_Chronic_Stress_Immune_Dysregulation_and_Health

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4465119/

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-You-Should-Ignore-All-That/248366

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Filed Under: Health, Lifestyle Tagged With: COVID19, immune, immune system, stress

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HELLO!

HELLO!

I'm Alethea, a Gold Coast based Clinical Nutritionist with a Bachelor's Degree of Health Science in Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine. I'm passionate about helping people rediscover the spark of vitality deep within.

Recent Posts

  • Gut Health: How to have a rockin’ microbiome
  • Eating Rainbows vs Counting Macros
  • Richie’s Rustic Broth
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  • Essential Tips for COVID-19

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#goldcoastnutritionist #sportsnutrition

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Did you know that timing and supplements can affec Did you know that timing and supplements can affect your test results? 🤔 

Some examples of this are below.

🩸 Biotin (vitamin B7) can lead to altered results in thyroid testing by falsely elevating T3 and T4 and by affecting troponin (a biomarker for heart attacks). Biotin is often found in B vitamins, prenatal supplements and often seen in hair/nails growth products.

🩸Strenuous exercise or alcohol consumption prior to testing can alter iron studies and other markers including creating kinase, thyroid hormones, albumin, bilirubin and CRP. Alcohol should be avoided 24-48hrs prior to testing.

🩸Timing - Testosterone is highest in the morning and decreases as the day progresses, same with cortisol making morning testing generally more preferable.

🩸Fasting - recommended prior to most blood tests. An overnight fast and having blood taken first thing in the morning is ideal for most testing. It is important however, to be hydrated when testing is done as dehydration can affect some markers. I’m talking water for hydration, avoid caffeine 😉

🌱General advice is avoid supplementation approximately three days prior, avoid strenuous exercise and alcohol, maintain a similar diet with a fasting period the night before whilst remaining hydrated. This is very general and will change with the individual and current treatment so always speak to your practitioner before ceasing any supplementation/medication.
Add some potato and this is my food heaven 😍 Add some potato and this is my food heaven 😍
Athletes are often at higher risk of injury, which Athletes are often at higher risk of injury, which makes sense right, if you are involved in physical activity you are more likely to obtain an injury than sitting on the couch. Of course the benefits of physical activity over sitting on the couch are numerous, so don’t at me 😉

Investigating why the athlete is injured is always an essential step. Worthy considerations to minimise future risk are to assess if the athlete is energy deficient, review mechanics, insufficient sleep and/or rest days, lack of strength training to name a few.

Then it’s all about recovery which involves physical rehab with a chosen practitioner such as physio, myotherapy, acupuncture, massage with reputable practitioners. And then there is nutrition! 🍏🥩✨

Consuming adequate energy is necessary for healing, however some key nutrients to consider are:

✨Fractures: focus on bone building nutrients - calcium, vitamin D, magnesium
✨Inflammatory conditions (ones that end in “itis”- anti-inflammatory nutrients and antioxidants such as omega3, curcumin, berries, vitamin A, C, E. Not nutrition related however I found great relief in rolling the foot on a frozen water bottle for plantar fasciitis!!
✨Joint pain - grass fed hydrolysed collagen - taken in the hour prior to strength training is 👌🏼
✨Muscle injuries - adequate protein and BCAAs can be helpful here too.

If you are finding you have recurrent injuries, stress fractures, joint pain, get in touch and we'll get you on the road to feeling great 👍
Tuna Salad 🥗 Old favourite 😍 Tuna Salad 🥗 Old favourite 😍
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