Stress: how it depletes nutrients from your body
When we think of stress, we often imagine it as a mental or emotional. The anxiety of a task, or goal or a deadline.
But stress is not just in your mind. It is biochemical. Each time you feel stressed, your body activates the fight, flight or freeze response. Your body is flooded with cortisol.
But did you know it also depletes nutrients?
Let’s start with magnesium, often called the relaxation mineral. Under chronic stress, your body uses more magnesium to regulate nerve function and calm the nervous system.
Low magnesium makes you more anxious and restless.
A vicious cycle has been created.
Calcium levels also fluctuate under stress. Your body needs calcium, which it leaches from your bones. Cortisol affects calcium metabolism, reducing absorption from food and increasing urinary loss.
Over time, this imbalance can affect bone health and muscle contraction, leading to cramps, fatigue, or even irregular heartbeats.
Zinc is crucial for immune resilience and hormone balance. During stress, the body prioritizes cortisol production, diverting zinc away from its usual functions.
Your immunity suffers. Studies have shown measurable declines in serum zinc after prolonged stress exposure.
Similarly, iron levels drop when inflammation triggered by stress interferes with iron absorption and transport.
Women already prone to iron deficiency are the worst affected with fatigue, brain fog, and low mood.
Finally, vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant. It is rapidly consumed during stress.
Your adrenal glands use large amounts of it to produce cortisol. If stress is prolonged, vitamin C reserves fall, impairing collagen synthesis, immunity, and energy production.
The takeaway?
Stress doesn’t just tire your mind. It exhausts your body. We live in a hyper stimulated world. One where stress is the only constant.
If you are going through a period of stress, ensure that you get a balanced meal. One that provided your body with all the nutrients that it needs.
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