ISSUE 2

Eight out of ten visitors to our site click on options that support calm or stress relief. We know why we are stressed, but why are we ALL so stressed? This led us down a rabbithole and on the other end, the only conclusion was that stress is inherent to life. If we know this, then the real question we were left with is how can we help people to feel less stressed?

Food

Water: a key ingredient in stress reduction is only a sip away

Did you know that there is a link between water and stress? Dehydration directly impacts how your body functions, when it isn’t running well, it causes stress. While water won’t help to eliminate all of the stressors in life, it can certainly help to ease the load. “Studies have shown that being just half a liter dehydrated can increase your cortisol levels,” says Amanda Carlson, RD, director of performance nutrition at Athletes’ Performance, a trainer of world-class athletes. [[for WebMD](https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/water-stress-reduction#:~:text=“You’re actually likely to,weight loss and nutrition programs.)]”

https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/water-stress-reduction#:~:text=“You’re actually likely to,weight loss and nutrition programs.

3 breakfasts ideas with cortisol-reducing foods

Today we’re starting with the quick and easy recipes to help you manage cortisol like a boss. Check out our latest blog for these recipes. We also highlight the key ingredients that do the work, so you can try incorporating them into your existing meals. Who knew they key could be in adding and not taking things away?

Wellness

Did you know that changing your morning routine can reduce stress?

Cortisol has a bad reputation for how it impacts your body when it is elevated, but it plays a really important role in helping you to manage stress, inflammation, trauma and more. Interestingly, our cortisol levels are the highest when we wake up in the morning. This can have an even bigger impact on people who have stressful work environments, irregular work shifts, or have diabetes or insulin resistance. [Sources: 1, 2, 3] If you’re looking for a few ways to adjust your morning routine to balance cortisol, here are a few quick tips. Sources[1]

The stress and eczema connection

Anyone with eczema knows that flare ups are the worst! You’re uncomfortable and it also causes stress. While there isn’t a cure for eczema, there are specific steps people with eczema can take to reduce stress and limit the cycle of eczema causing additional stress.

Health

What the heck is stress anyway?

So you’ve said that you’re so stressed about 1,000 times, but have you ever stopped to consider, what is it actually? Stress certainly has a bad reputation, but it’s not all bad. Reasonable amounts of stress can inspire you to achieve something you never imagined. The good news is that this stress goes away once the issue is resolved. So what happens, when stress doesn’t go away? Well hello there, anxiety has entered the room. We’ll dive more into anxiety in another issue of Wellworthy, but here’s a quick overview to better understand the connection between stress and anxiety.

How do you know if you have high cortisol?

Here are a few ways you can evaluate if you have high cortisol, as always, we encourage you to talk to your doctor, get a second opinion and do your own research.

Choose Joy

Silence as food for the brain

“Ma, a Japanese term loosely translated as ‘pause’, helps us to stop and notice the space between words, sentences, musical notes, breaths, sounds, feelings. When we pause we stop the world. When we stop the world we find inner peace, clarity, calm, grounding, we can listen deeply both internally and externally, and so much more,” Christine Comaford for Forbes.

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The post ISSUE 2 – Why are we ALL so stressed appeared first on Gwell - Nutrition, Wellness, and Healthcare Advocacy.