from the February, 2012 issue of Kiai!

Food, Wellness, and Stress – The Intimate Connections

By Kate Webster
Manager of Violence Prevention Programs

I used to work in an office where one of my colleagues created a dehydrated food museum of discarded and dried up food items people found. One day she had us guess how old a Twinkie was (a highly processed sponge pastry with a cream filling), and, while we all said it was only a few weeks old, it was in fact 10 years old and hadn’t aged or molded at all. Scary for sure. This experience reminded me of Michael Pollen’s book on Food Rules where he offers sensible nutritional tips to eat real food with no long list of unpronounceable ingredients—such as those found in the Twinkie. And, while many of us are well aware of the unhealthy side effects of eating highly processed foods how much do we really know about how what we eat connects with our overall wellness to impact our daily levels of stress?

photoHis short book made me think more critically about not just what I put in my mouth, but all that goes into that food product. So I challenged myself to uncomplicate my own ‘food rules’ and I realized in the process that what I eat is intimately connected to how I am feeling and my overall sense of wellness and self-care. For example, when I haven’t had a restful night of sleep, I notice that I don’t make good eating choices and crave chocolate and salty chips more so than usual. Or, if I don’t take that moment in the morning to meditate and calm my mind, I get wrapped up in all my tasks, eat a quick meal at my desk, and feel hungry a few minutes later. When I don’t eat well, I don’t sleep well, and then I don’t feel well and don’t want to go workout or see friends—the insidious cycle of stress has begun. I feel like a slug on the couch and it’s hard to know how to break the cycle and not feel so stressed.

One tip I have learned is to plan ahead and reach out to my community. When I know I am not going to get enough sleep, I pack an extra amount of healthy snacks to munch on, pack a fun lunch to look forward to, and pause throughout the day to enjoy these foods. If I am feeling more stressed than usual, I will get up a few minutes early to find a quiet moment and just focus on my breath. And if the slug feeling creeps in, I will text a friend to see if they will be going to karate class to give me that extra impetus to go as well. When I do these things on a consistent basis, I notice that my stress decreases, I feel less tense in my body, and I am more able to focus on my work and karate.

Now, I’m not saying to never eat a Twinkie or not stay up late. And even Pollan encourages us to break the rules once in awhile. But if you are going to indulge, then perhaps make the junk food yourself with ingredients you know, and then eat it sitting on the couch, relaxing with friends, or watching a tv show with your favorite pet curled up besides you.

If you would like to learn more tips to decrease your stress and ideas on healthy nutrition, meditation, and rest and relaxation, come take Thousand Wave’s Stress Management & Wellness workshop on Saturday, March 10th from 1:00-4:00. In this workshop we will discuss the benefits of nutrition, effective relaxation and stretching techniques, interactive play exercises, and self-care meditation tools.

When: Saturday, March 10th from 1:00-4:00
Who: All mixed gender teens and adults
Where: Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Center
            1220 W. Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
What: Cost is $40 for this workshop scholarship assistance available

To register online go to: www.thousandwaves.org or call us at 773-472-7663