Skip the Donut When Stressed
New study shows it might take your body longer to recover
Reaching for the sugar-laden fatty treat just before a stressful event is my norm. It’s nearly automatic. I’m suddenly locked in on that croissant or eclair like a junk-food sniper. Not only before stress, but often after the final exam or board-room presentation, I’m grabbing the Oreos.
Problem is, a fatty treat during stress might do more harm than swell those love handles. New research published in Frontiers of Nutrition revealed that fatty foods may impair the body’s ability to recover from stressful situations by decreasing vascular function — as measured by the ability of blood vessels to widen and allow blood flow.
I’m not alone in my donut grab. More than a quarter of US adults say they use food to help with stress, and 34% of those who report overeating fatty foods when stressed say it’s a habit, according to the American Psychological Association. That’s a lot of people with impaired blood flow.
The cardiovascular system takes a hit when stressed. “Our heart rate and blood pressure go up, our blood vessels dilate, and blood flow to the brain increases,” Rosalind Baynham, PhD, a researcher at the University of Birmingham in the U.K., said in a statement. “We also know that the elasticity of our blood vessels —…
