NYC FOOD STAPLES ARE CAUSING STRESS
Nourishing our bodies is just as important as meeting project deadlines or on time to appointments. But in our frantic preoccupations, we end up treating our bodies like a garbage can. Either at our desk or darting to make our train, we scarf down “quick bits” that escalate the vicious cycle of stress.
Here are some stress-inducing quick bites New Yorkers usually reach for:
Bagels
Deliciously satisfying and uniquely New York, bagels are made from processed white grains that hold no nutritional value. The body digests these refined carbohydrates rather quickly, leading to fluctuating blood sugar levels that produce elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This process affects your focus, alertness, energy—all while causing rapid mood swings and irritability
Deli Meats
Though reliable for a quick lunch, deli meats like ham, bologna, hot dogs, and even turkey, contain high levels of energy-sucking, mood-altering nitrates, food preservatives, colorings and additives that cause mood swings, water retention and bloating, and headaches. In addition, chopsticks and working late are perfect ingredients for creating even more endocrine insanity. Deli meats and Chinese takeout have notoriously high sodium levels.
When your body switches into fight-or-flight mode during times of stress, one of the responses is to elevate your blood pressure. Constantly shoveling high-sodium foods into your mouth may actually exacerbate your body’s stress response as well as worsen your body’s regulation of blood pressure, resulting in general high blood pressure or hypertension. Inevitably, this strain on your heart and arteries can lead to an increase in anxiety. Large amounts of sodium can also deplete your body of potassium, a mineral that is essential for proper functioning of the nervous system.
Breakfast Egg Burrito
A hand-held warm, tortilla encased breakfast may not be the best addition to your morning. To cut costs, most commercial food vendors purchase eggs propagated from chickens raised in factory farms. Due to the cramped, unnatural conditions of their environment, these chicken are subject to high levels of stress. As a result, these hens produce eggs that contain high concentrations of the stress hormone corticosterone. In humans, the imbalance of corticosterone contributes to the long-term inability of enzyme regulation in the adrenal cortex and blood pressure.
The mind/body complex is essentially our only means of getting shit done. Without it, we cannot meet our obligations or have healthy interactions. We may not be able to control the external circumstances but we can take the initiative to not augment to our internal stress. Our physical well-being must not come as a sacrifice but often does in favor of our work life. And yet, we cannot be productive if we do not have a healthy vehicle that can help us function within the world. Stress alone is already so detrimental to our bodies and since we endure daily, the least we can do it not feed it more toxicity.
Did you know some of these delicious foods are causing you stress?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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