We always take a holistic view of health and therefore also look at mental health. One of the most influential factors on mental health is stress, so let's take a closer look at it now.

Do you find life more stressful than usual at the moment, or less stressful? In many ways, the time during the corona pandemic could be considered less stressful. We are forced to slow down. The conference where you were supposed to give a talk has been canceled. You now have three more hours in the day because you no longer have to commute and get stuck in traffic jams on the highway. Your business trip to the USA is postponed until further notice. No more meetings and no more business lunches. And for the time being, you don't have to make time for social commitments either. Suddenly we have so much more time.

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On the other hand, you're now not only working from home, but you also have to somehow teach your children and keep them happy. On top of that, you're worried about your health, your job, your livelihood, your mortgage, your family and your elderly parents. So the stressors pile up quickly, and that's before we even start worrying about the economy, the food supply and the world as a whole. Has life ever been as stressful as it is right now?

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Understanding your own stress

It's hard not to reach for the familiar comfort patches in this situation. Cakes, cookies, potato chips and chocolate beckon to calm us down, distract us and ward off anxiety. Due to time constraints, many people skip cooking, heat up a ready meal in the microwave or order a take-away. As tempting as this may be, processed food is not the solution. It may feel that way in the short term, but on the whole they only make things worse.

Did you know that it is even possible to measure stress levels?

The role of blood sugar levels

To keep stress in check, it is extremely important to keep blood sugar levels in balance. Sugary foods and refined carbohydrates (such as pasta, rice, bread and potatoes) cause blood sugar levels to rise rapidly.

At first, this feels good and gives you a boost of energy. But after an increased blood sugar level, a blood sugar crash is not long in coming. Insulin is released to remove excess sugar from the bloodstream. It transports as much sugar as possible into the body's cells, where it is used to produce energy. Some of the sugar is stored in the liver and muscles for emergencies. The rest - and that is actually most of it - is converted into fat and stored in the center of the body, around the internal organs, for a rainy day. But these "bad times" never come.

Lots of sugar means lots of insulin, lots of insulin means a blood sugar crash about two hours after eating. As a result, you feel tired, irritable, can't concentrate and crave more sugar because it will pep you up again. It works, but it triggers the whole process all over again. Basically, we also know that it is healthier is to eat less sugar.

Our body does not allow much leeway for blood glucose levels. At any given time, only about 5g of glucose should be circulating in our bloodstream. That's only about a teaspoon. Too much is just as dangerous as too little, which is why hormones control blood sugar levels very strictly. Insulin lowers it, glucagon and cortisol raise it.

The stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol

When we are stressed, the body releases the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline triggers the stress reaction, cortisol continues it. Its job is to provide our body with everything it needs to trigger a stress response, the "fight or flight" response. If we were unexpectedly attacked by a grizzly bear - which can be described as a stressful situation - cortisol is released within milliseconds and this leads to a series of events:

• The heart starts to beat faster.
• Breathing speeds up.
• Emergency supplies of stored glucose (see above) flow into the bloodstream.
• The muscles tense up.
• The blood thickens.
• The blood vessels constrict.

As a result, we now have the energy that the muscles need to run away or fight off the bear - to fight or flee. At the same time, bodily functions that are not currently needed for survival are put on hold: Repair and maintenance, reproduction, digestion. This is the body's stress response.

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The role of stress then and now

The way our bodies respond to stress has developed over the course of evolution to help us protect ourselves from harm and save our lives. For thousands of years, this worked perfectly. The problem is that the stress response should only last minutes (after which we would either be safe or dead). However, our modern stressors rarely pose an immediate threat to our lives or safety that would require us to run or fight. As a result, the energy released - the sugar - is not dissipated.

Our stressors today are far less violent and not immediately life-threatening, but there are many more stressors, and they barely allow us a breather. Our physical stress response is not particularly well suited to this modern type of stress. This makes it all the more important not to simply accept constant stress, but to ensure that you reduce stress.

If you imagine that the stress response is constantly switched on, you would have a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, high blood sugar and insulin levels and high blood pressure. At the same time, you would age faster than expected, have digestive problems such as diarrhea and difficulty conceiving. Does this sound familiar to you?

Our worries - which are weighing heavily on us right now - trigger the stress response several times a day. If, on top of this, we allow our blood sugar levels to skyrocket and then drop too low, this leads to further cortisol spikes.

The right way to deal with stress

There are stressors in everyone's life that they cannot do anything about. However, this one - the blood sugar spike - is easy to eliminate if you know how to steer your blood sugar levels into calmer waters.

Here's how:

1. avoid sugar

By this we don't just mean the teaspoons of white powder you stir into your coffee or tea, but all sugar, including doughnuts, cookies, croissants, cakes, jam, honey, sweets and chocolate - but also ketchup, salad dressings, sushi (!) and other seemingly 'savory' foods.

It's not as hard as it sounds, though, because you'll probably feel better within a few days. Your taste buds will adjust and - should you accidentally eat sweets again - you will probably find them far too sweet. Our tip: Fermented vegetables, such as a fork of sauerkraut or pickled cucumbers, help to counteract cravings.

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2. choose starches (carbohydrates) wisely

Starches - a type of carbohydrate - are chains of glucose molecules, in other words sugar. During digestion, they are broken down into sugar molecules, which then enter the bloodstream and raise blood sugar levels. How quickly and how high the blood sugar level rises depends on the type of carbohydrate you have eaten.

Processed, refined carbohydrates are quickly broken down into glucose because industrial processing has already done some of the work that your digestive tract would otherwise have to do. The more natural and unprocessed your starchy foods are, the slower they turn into sugar: whole grains, coarse brown bread, brown rice, whole rolled oats, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds. These foods should not take up more than a quarter of your plate, while half of the plate should be covered with vegetables, preferably those that grow above ground, as they contain less sugar.

3. don't forget protein

Carbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth, where the enzyme amylase, which is contained in saliva, begins to break it down. The carbohydrates then pass quickly through the stomach and their digestion continues in the small intestine.

Protein digestion, on the other hand, begins in the stomach. If carbohydrates and protein enter the stomach together, the carbohydrates cannot be transported any further until the stomach has broken down the protein sufficiently. The carbohydrates therefore reach the small intestine later and only gradually. This ensures a slow but steady supply of glucose, which the body can cope with much better. It also means that the food stays in your stomach for longer and you don't get hungry again so quickly.

If you eat like this you can prevent the frequent blood sugar spikes that contribute to diabetes in the long term. Coupled with stress-induced high blood pressure, this can have disastrous consequences. You can also avoid the blood sugar spike that leads to the release of cortisol, eliminating at least one stressor that your system otherwise has to deal with several times a day. This is the first and very, very important step on the way to successful stress management.

Effects of stress on the gut

It is often forgotten that stress not only affects mental health, but also the gut. We recommend our probiotic ARKTIBIOTIC StressCompens to protect the gut in stressful times and to support its resistance. It contains an optimized mixture of nine bacterial strains as well as folic acid and vitamin B12. It also improves networking between the gut and brain, and Compens is ideal in times of high physical or mental stress.

Our amino acid supplement BALANCE, with L-tryptophan, provides the body with an ideal supply for the production of serotonin and melatonin.

Another of our products that we like to recommend to those under particular mental stress is our colostrum STRONG. Colostrum is also recommended for strengthening and stabilizing the immune system.

Best wishes and stay healthy!

Our blog is for information purposes only and does not replace a visit to the doctor. We do not recommend any action. You are responsible for your own health. If you have any doubts, consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle.