Each month, Colgate Dietitian Deirdre Smith shares her thoughts on healthy eating and wellness on campus.
Fueling Your Mind (eating healthy during stressful times)
For students with deadlines for papers, projects, and final exams, it can be easy to fall into unhealthy behaviors like skipping meals. Even in the busiest times of year, it is still important to maintain a healthy diet and take care of yourself to keep your body and mind energized and focused.
Here are five nutrition tips to consider for managing your stress level:
Fuel your brain with a healthy diet. A healthy diet starts with a strong nutritional foundation, based on consuming adequate calories from carbohydrates, protein, and fat. One of the most important things you can do for your brain is eating regularly throughout the day, avoiding long periods without eating. When your brain is starved, concentrating and sustaining energy becomes more difficult. Prioritize your health by making it a point to refuel. If your time is limited, stop by the Coop or Hieber Café for a to-go sandwich, salad, or snack.
Improve your mood with complex carbohydrates. Serotonin is the “feel good” chemical messenger that helps regulate mood and sleep. In periods of stress, levels of serotonin go down, while levels of cortisol, the “stress hormone,” go up. The production of serotonin can also be affected by what we eat. Help your brain make serotonin by focusing on a diet that is rich in complex carbohydrates. Start your morning with whole-grain cereals like oatmeal or Raisin Bran, and choose whole-grain breads, as well as brown rice and pasta, to go with your lunch and dinner. When snacking, choose hummus and vegetables or a fruit parfait, which are great sources of complex carbohydrates.
Recognize your hunger. Sometimes we turn to food to relieve stress or to make us feel better. Stress eating or emotional eating can almost feel like an automatic response! Although looking for a quick pick-me-up or turning to comfort food isn’t always a bad thing, it can become a concern when it’s your only coping mechanism. The next time you’re feeling stressed and it triggers that habit to stress eat, take a minute to stop and self-evaluate. Are you experiencing a physical hunger or an emotional hunger? Emotional hunger tends to come on suddenly and can be felt above the neck, while physical hunger starts gradually and manifests itself within your stomach. Next, rate your hunger on a scale from one to 10 and consider how recently you ate.
Practice mindful eating. How often do you catch yourself eating while doing other things like reading, studying, or playing on your phone? It’s easy to feel disconnected with our bodies, and we are more likely to ignore the physical cues of fullness and overeat when our mind is elsewhere. To adopt one mindful tip today, simply chew your food. How often do you rush through a meal, not even considering the taste of what you’re eating? Take time to enjoy the flavors, textures, and smells.
Stay hydrated. Staying hydrated is just as important as nourishing the body with food. Hydration impacts your ability to stay focused and concentrate. It’s important to know that caffeinated and alcoholic beverages act as diuretics and lead to dehydration, causing fatigue and headaches — which will distract you from your work. Too much caffeine can also disrupt sleep and negatively affect stress levels. In general, for every cup of coffee, you should drink one cup of water to make up for the diuretic effect.
As the semester comes to a close, remember to fuel your mind and body — Colgate Dining Services offers a variety of fueling meals, snacks, and beverages in our facilities. If you need assistance in navigating through our facilities and choosing the right offerings, please contact me.
Deirdre Smith, RD, CDN
dsmith@colgate.edu
(315) 228-6410