Media release: Stress, digestion & nutrition

Chat Leave a comment June 11, 2019 nutritionadsa

Stress, as an appropriate response to a real danger, is an evolutionary life-saver.  Thanks to the fight-flight responses in our ancestors’ bodies, we, the descendants have made it through to the 21^st Century.  It’s ironic that in this modern age with extraordinary technologies devoted to eliminating hazards and increasing our ease in life, our stress is off the charts.  We’ve become aware that our bodies, almost perpetually flooded with the stress hormones, adrenalin and cortisol, are now at risk from their own, age-old, protective ingenuity.

Our bodies are well-designed to cope with short bursts of life-saving stress, but it is sustained stress, resulting from a barrage of perceived threats, that takes its toll.  Flowing adrenalin and cortisol from our activated endocrine system ignite both visceral and cerebral reactions; and they do so by drawing the body’s energy away from other systems, such as our digestion and immunity.

Registered dietitian and spokesperson for ADSA (Association for Dietetics in South Africa), Maryke Gallagher explains that it is our autonomic nervous system (ANS), comprising of sympathetic, parasympathetic and enteric nervous systems, that controls our involuntary responses.  “Stress hormones switch on the sympathetic nervous system to increase your heartbeat and send blood to the areas to cope with the emergency,” she explains.  “In the process, the effects of the parasympathetic system in charge of other functions, such as digestion, are dampened. This can lead to unwanted digestive symptoms such as constipation, diarrhoea, nausea, stomach cramps, malabsorption and irritable bowel symptoms. Stress may also exasperated symptoms of heartburn and acid reflux in susceptible individuals and those suffering from stomach ulcers.”

How stress can undermine our nutrition

Apart from raising the risks of digestive ailments, chronic stress can influence how and what we eat, to the detriment of our healthy eating plans.  Gallagher says, “Research has shown that in susceptible individuals chronic stress can lead to overeating especially highly palatable, less nutritious foods that are high in highly processed carbohydrates, sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. High cortisol levels, in combination with high insulin levels, may be responsible. The hormone ghrelin that regulates hunger, may also play a role. The happy hormone serotonin may have an impact as the consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods may trigger its release, which can have a momentary calming effect on stressed individuals. Unfortunately, the consumption of these foods can have a negative effect on blood sugar levels, causing spikes and drops in blood sugar that then make one feel agitated, fatigued and hungry and grabbing for the same sugary, highly-processed foods that initiated this process, leading to a vicious circle of poorer dietary choices.

The impact of stress on our weight

Sustained stress might well impact on our weight management.  While some individuals may lose weight because of their stressed state, those who are inclined towards emotional eating can go the opposite way.  Mpho Tshukudu, also a Registered Dietitian and ADSA spokesperson says, “Adrenalin can trigger overeating or eating unhealthy foods to calm the response after the body has used up glucose for the stressful situation. One may eat mindlessly whilst thinking about the problem at hand and not even focus on the taste of foods, portions and your satiety level.  Elevated cortisol creates physiological changes that help to replenish the body’s energy stores that are used and depleted during the stress response. It makes you want to eat more to obtain more energy. This leads to increased appetite and cravings for sweet and fatty foods, which can lead to fat gain particularly around the belly.”

Nutrition’s role in stress management

Just like physical activity and mindfulness, nutrition has an important role to play in managing our stress and caring for ourselves well during a difficult time.  Keeping your healthy eating regime on track, or changing to one during times of prolonged stress can have positive physical and emotional impacts.  The experts recommend:

• Eat regular meals to avoid blood glucose dips, which helps to keep hunger and hormones such as insulin in check. Skipping meals on the other hand can exacerbate symptoms of stress and erode your stress response.
• Focus on a diet rich in plant-based, high fibre foods such as vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts and whole grains, as well as lean proteins and healthy fats. This will assist in better blood sugar regulation to better manage the short term effects of stress, while protecting the body against chronic disease in the long run.
• Avoid highly-processed carbohydrate rich and sugary
• Be careful of regularly eating treat foods, such as chocolate in order to make you ‘feel better’. Likewise be aware of not increasing your intake of caffeine or alcohol during stressful times.
• Consider including fermented foods in your diet, or taking a probiotic supplement to keep your gut microbiome healthy. Research has shown that stress affects the amount and type of healthy bacteria in the gut, which in turn can affect our immunity that may be suppressed due to stress. Tshukudu points out: “There is a complex two way connection between the digestive system and the brain, called the brain-gut axis. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a stressed brain can send signals to the gut.  This system is sensitive to our emotional state and affects digestive illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion and heartburn. It also affects the whole body function.”

 

ABOUT ADSA

ADSA, the Association for Dietetics in South Africa, is one of the country’s professional organisations for registered dietitians. It is a registered non-profit organisation served by qualified volunteers. The Association represents, and plays a vital role in developing the dietetic profession so as to contribute towards the goal of achieving optimal nutrition for all South Africans. Through its network of ten branches ADSA provides dietitians with the opportunity to meet and network with other professionals in their provinces. Through its comprehensive Continuing Professional Development (CPD) system, ADSA supports dietitians in meeting their mandatory on-going learning, which is essential to maintain their registration status with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).  Visit: http://www.adsa.org.za

Dietitian’s week 2019

Chat 1 Comment June 3, 2019 nutritionadsa

Dietitians do much more than you think!

The careers of dietitians are way more diverse than many think.  The typical assumption is that a dietitian is a nutritional health professional available through private practice to those who need and can afford weight loss expertise.  The reality couldn’t be more different.  Dietitians are employed across private practice and public healthcare; academia and research; corporate, government and non-government sectors.  While they all have the expertise to deal with weight loss and weight management, which can be critical health issues, their expertise in science-based nutrition means that they work far more widely on a myriad of nutrition-related issues.

Our relationships with food are so complex that it is not uncommon for a community-based dietitian to be dealing with both issues of obesity and malnutrition not just in the same day, but even within the same family.  If you are in hospital recovering from cancer surgery or a debilitating stroke; how do you take in the nutrition you need?  If you are a consumer goods company wanting to offer healthier food products; who will you turn to?  If we want to understand the latest claims about Omega 3 fats; who will help us sort the fact from fiction?  If a school needs to revamp its tuck shop and find healthier, popular alternatives; what are the best, proven recommendations?

In support of Dietitian’s Week, which runs from the 3^rd to the 7^th of June, ADSA, the Association for Dietetics in South Africa, is highlighting the wide range of services dietitians are specifically trained to deliver. SASPEN, the South African Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition; ENASA, the Enteral Nutrition Association of South Africa and HDIG, the Hospital Dietitian Interest Group have all joined forces with ADSA to raise awareness that there’s much more to the work of a dietitian than is commonly assumed.

Registered Dietitian and ADSA spokesperson Abby Courtenay says, “At the core of every dietitian’s work is evidenced-based nutrition science and the ability to interpret this to meet an endless variety of demands for sound and expert nutrition advice.  Worldwide, nutrition research is ongoing, and Registered Dietitians are required by regulatory bodies to keep studying after they have qualified in order to ensure that they are at the forefront of the latest nutrition science, no matter what field or industry they work in.”

SASPEN spokesperson, Logesh Govender, further explains: “In South Africa, dietitians must be registered with the HPCSA which regulates the professional titles of Dietitians, Supplementary Dietitians, and Student Dietitians, as well as Nutritionists, Supplementary Nutritionists, and Student nutritionists. Requirements for eligibility for registration include a recognized bachelor’s degree in dietetics or nutrition from an accredited educational institution. The undergraduate training should include the three practice areas of therapeutic nutrition, community nutrition, and food service management. Dietitians can then select any of these areas to practice. Even in these different areas there are dietitians who may develop a keen interest in specific components.”

These are some of things that Registered Dietitians do:

Christine Taljaard-Krugel: “As a Registered Dietitian researcher and consultant, I make nutrition evidence useful for different sectors, including government, the private sector and the public.  I also invest in developing leadership capabilities in nutrition professionals across the continent to move the nutrition agenda forward.”

Linda Drummond: “My role at the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) is to be the Nutrition Consultant to the Food Safety Initiative (FSI).  The CGCSA is a non-profit organization representing more than 12000 member companies engaged in the manufacture, retail, wholesale and distribution of consumer goods in South Africa and internationally. The FSI advocates for sustainable initiatives, forums, projects and programmes related to food safety, nutrition, quality and sustainability. My work focuses on helping members achieve compliance to food and nutrition regulations and I am responsible for driving the Healthy Food Options Industry Initiatives programme. The work in this programme aims to make healthier food options available and accessible to South Africans, as a means of curbing non-communicable diseases and promoting good health.”

Nazeeia Sayed: “I am a Consultant Registered Dietitian. I have over 20 years’ experience spanning food composition, research, lecturing dietetic students, supporting food industry research and development, regulatory and marketing teams in product development (in particular salt reduction, healthy recipe development and fortification), and developing nutrition communication.”

Bianca Tromp: “As a Registered Dietitian at the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSFSA) which is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation, I am responsible for creating public awareness of cardiovascular disease and stroke in order to reduce the prevalence in South Africa. With this aim in mind, I provide scientifically accurate information to healthcare professionals and the general public in the form of research updates newsletters, television, radio and written media. The Nutrition Science team at the HSFSA also play a fundamental role in the Heart Mark endorsement programme where we endorse products that meet our strict nutritional criteria.”

Gaby Sidelsky: “I am a private hospital Clinical Registered Dietitian which means I work in a hospital. On a daily basis I work with doctors, mainly surgeons, who perform procedures on patients who require nutritional counselling on discharge. This is usually a gut surgery which requires a long term change in diet. I also work in ICU where I calculate a patients nutritional requirements and provide nutritional support if they cannot eat orally such as feeding through a tube from the nose directly into the stomach or through a vein. I also provide extra nutrients for patients who can’t get enough through their food or have a poor appetite due to side effects of medication, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy.”

Qudsiyah Kassim:  “As a public service Clinical Registered Dietitian I play a role in the public sector by providing therapeutic nutrition to both in and outpatients. I am part of the hospital’s multidisciplinary team and engage in ward rounds in my allocated wards. I provide therapeutic nutrition through assessing patients and prescribing the appropriate nutrition intervention as per the patient’s medical condition, as well as delivering nutrition intervention for in-patients through the prescription of a hospital diet/enteral nutrition/parenteral nutrition/dietary education and providing a meal plan on discharge.  For outpatients, I conduct a nutrition assessment and provide relevant dietary education (with appropriate meal plan and/ or supplementation if needed).”

Cindy van Rooyen: “As a Registered Dietitian I am also qualified to work in the food service industry. I currently work at a school hostel as their food service manager. In this role, I am responsible for menu planning, which includes making sure that the meals are nutritionally appropriate for our students (13-18 years). I am responsible for doing stock take and stock control to ensure the products are fresh, nutritious and safe to consume.  I also have to ensure that we comply with the health and safety act and that the appropriate hygiene practices are followed.”

ABOUT ADSA
ADSA, the Association for Dietetics in South Africa, is one of the country’s professional
organizations for registered dietitians. It is a registered non-profit organization served by qualified volunteers. The Association represents and plays a vital role in developing the dietetic profession so as to contribute towards the goal of achieving optimal nutrition for all South Africans. Through its network of ten branches, ADSA provides dietitians with the opportunity to meet and network with other professionals in their provinces. Through its comprehensive Continuing Professional Development (CPD) system, ADSA supports dietitians in meeting their mandatory on-going learning, which is essential to maintain their registration status with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Visit: http://www.adsa.org.za