Page 4 - PORTLAND HEALTH BEAT DEC 2020
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DECEMBER 2020 VOLUME I, ISSUE II
COVID CURVES?
It’s easy to see how you might gain weight The classic textbook example is that if a lion
during the pandemic, especially if you are spending was chasing you after lunch, you wouldn’t be
concerned about digesting your sandwich. The
most of your time at home. Comfort food recipes
sympathetic nervous system would act effectively to
have been trending on Google. You find yourself
shut down digestion, direct blood flow away from the
thinking that a cookie sounds good—or a beer. So belly and out towards your arms and legs for quick
as sheltering-at-home restrictions ease up, people moving and up to your brain for quick thinking. On a
are becoming concerned about “COVID Curves” physiological level, your body doesn’t differentiate
and the “Quarantine 15”. Did you know when you're between a lion chasing you and your boss yelling at
you.They both trigger the body to shut off digestion
relaxed you burn more fat, and when you're
and store fat. This decreases our metabolic power.
stressed you accumulate more fat?
Digestive stress — when you feel bloated Have you ever heard of a hormone
or undigested after you eat—is about 25% what you called cortisol? This is the hormone that is
eat and 75% who you are being when you eat. Now, released when we are stressed out. Studies show that
increased cortisol in the system leads to fat
eating under stress is not only commonplace, it’s
accumulation. So, people who tend to gain weight
socially acceptable and often a prerequisite for primarily around the belly, likely experience chronic
managing a job, a family, or having a life. When low-level stress as excess cortisol production has this
moving through life too fast, we inevitably eat fast, strange effect of fattening up the belly.
which destroys our metabolism and creates
What’s the number one way to stop
digestive upset. It results in meals eaten under a
producing so much cortisol? The answer is to
physiologic stress response and diminishes our slow down. If you eat breakfast in five minutes, make
calorie-burning power. The slower you eat, the it ten. If you normally take 10 minutes, bump it up to
faster you metabolize. The more relaxed you are 15. Another way to slow down is to give yourself at
throughout your day, the more energy you will least 20 minutes for lunch and dinner, something
called "The 20-Minute Meal".
have. You can eat the healthiest meal on the planet,
but if you eat it in a stressed out, anxious state,
Did you know that breathing can help?
your digestion is dramatically diminished. When we are in a stressful state, if we consciously
The autonomic nervous system is adopt the deep and rhythmic breathing pattern
responsible for digestive activity, and there are two characteristic of the relaxed state, we fool the central
nervous system. The result is a shift from a state of
branches. The parasympathetic is also known as
low digestive activity to full digestive force. With any
the rest and digest, or feel and heal, response. This meal or snack, anytime food is about to pass across
is the optimal state for digestion and healing. When your lips, ask yourself, ‘Am I about to eat under
the parasympathetic is activated, metabolic power stress?’ If the answer is yes, pause and take ten long,
increases. This means when we are relaxed, we slow, deep breaths. Box Breathing, and the "5-5-7
actually burn more fat. The sympathetic is also Breath"are some popular breathing techniques.
You’ll find that you are more focused, more
known as fight or flight. This is our stress response.
productive and more energized.
When we are stressed out, it shuts down.
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