FUEL: April 18, 2014

FUEL to ENDURE.....

Spoiler Summary:  Another step down the path of resilience gained through prevention of stress-related harm.....this week some evidence of the nutritional linkage.

Last week I wrote a little bit about the impact that language (the way we "label" our world) can have on our body's response to what's going on around us....how something that seems so small, like word choice, can have such a big and lasting impact on our brain and therefore our bodies.  But, as you might expect with a story line that could take us into the wild, we only took a few steps down a winding path - and so this week I hope you'll take a few more steps with me.....how stress hits us can get a little dicey, so watch your step.

Stress is a great example of the brain-body connection, but maybe the real question is "which brain are we talking about"? The actual brain or "the second brain"? The one that has a special border designed to keep bacteria out or the one that couldn't do its job if it didn't have so much bacteria kept in?

As a review - the gut is sometimes called "the second brain" because it houses millions of nerves and therefore processes an enormous amount of information.  Some estimate that it has as many (or more) nerves as the spinal cord.  And....we know that there is at least a one-way communication link with stress and the gut.  Whether intuition and "gut feelings", or the churning and queasiness in uncomfortable situations, or even diseases of the gut that have an inseparable link to stress like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or GERD (Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disorder) - we know that when we are stressed, the gut shows outward signs of something that is largely rooted in the brain.  But what about the other direction?  What about an "upward" (gut to brain) connection?

I had the good fortune this week of presenting on this exact topic to a group of folks in Newark, NJ. Although a bit of a gross topic for some (there are not many who really want to discuss the inner-workings of the gut), it was a chance to go a little deeper on a critically important topic - to not only reinforce that stress is NOT the insurmountable enemy it sometimes feels like - but that, believe it or not, our FUEL choices can have a major impact on our stress load and impact on our working system.

The more we look, the more evidence comes to light.  Here are some examples:

• a 2011 study which, after controlling for several variables, showed a 15% to 32% reduction in the likelihood of having anxiety and depression respectively in adults based on dietary choices

• a 2012 study which showed an even more profound impact (15% and 62% for anxiety and depression respectively) in adolescents or

• two different 2014 studies which showed significant impacts ranging from 15% to 40% reductions in those same likelihoods based on consumption patterns,

Of course, if you stop and think about it, it makes total sense - how much more would any "machine" struggle or sputter if you gave it the wrong fuel mix?  Why should it surprise us that the body and mind are more likely to show signs of struggle (stress) if we put in the wrong stuff?

The hardest part might be accepting that there IS an ideal fuel mix for the body.....and the further away we get from that ideal, the more our performance suffers.....and the long-standing suffering shows up in the form of injury and chronic disease.

So what can we do?  Well the short answer is - keep learning, ask questions - you've got resources when you're ready to use them.  The longer answer is - a topic for another post.....maybe next week....a little further down the path.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.