Before we get into the impact of stress on nutrition, it’s important to distinguish the difference between food cravings and nutritional needs, says Jess Bonstein, senior health and wellbeing physiologist at Nuffield Health.

“During normal periods of stress, adrenaline can suppress your appetite and make you feel nauseous,” she explains. “However, during chronic stress, elevated cortisol levels can trigger cravings, particularly for processed foods. Cortisol also lowers the levels of leptin (a hormone that promotes satiety) and increases levels of ghrelin (a hormone that promotes appetite).”

While these hormonal changes might make you crave comforting, calorie-rich foods, this isn’t what your body needs. Rather, it’s a reflection of the knock-on effect of high cortisol. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a treat or two, but it’s important to be aware of what your body requires.

1. Stress disrupts our digestion

If you’ve ever had an upset stomach or suffered painful cramps during a period of high stress, you might have noticed stress can have a detrimental impact on the digestive system.

When we enter the fight-or-flight response, the body downregulates ‘non-essential’ systems like the digestive and reproductive systems in order to focus all the energy on escaping danger. That’s all well and good in the short-term, but when stress becomes chronic, this deprioritisation of the digestive system can wreak havoc on your ability to break down food and absorb nutrients.

Your nutritional needs change when you’re stressed – here’s how to support your body and mind with food