Stress Management: A Surprising Metabolic Regulator

When I first started working in health education twenty years ago, we treated stress as a separate issue from metabolic health. Stress was "mental health," whilst diabetes and obesity were "physical health." How wrong we were! The research now shows us that this artificial separation has cost us dearly.

Here's something that you might not know: your stress response doesn't distinguish between a charging lion and a demanding boss. Both trigger the same ancient survival mechanism, one that's wreaking havoc on our metabolic health in ways we're only beginning to understand.

Your body's stress response system is actually elegant, when it's working as intended. Image this: you're our ancestor, face-to-face with genuine danger. Your sympathetic nervous system instantly floods your bloodstream with adrenaline and noradrenaline, whilst your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis releases cortisol. Your liver dumps glucose into your blood, your muscles tense, your heart pounds. You fight, you flee, you survive, and then, crucially, you recover. But what happens when that same system remains switched on for months or years? When the "danger" is an overflowing inbox, financial worries, or relationship conflicts that never quite resolve?

When Your Body Attacks Itself: Inflammation

Let’s try to grasp something together: stress alone can raise your blood glucose by 30-40% if you have diabetes, and 10-15% even if you don't. Not from eating anything or from skipping medication. Just from thinking about something stressful. I've seen this firsthand during my too often stressful periods. My stress management is still a work in progress..

”Stress-induced cortisol elevation makes perfect sense from an evolutionary perspective - you need readily available energy to fight or flee. The problem comes when this happens chronically, without the physical activity that would normally utilise that mobilised glucose.” Dr. Peter Attia

But elevated glucose is just the beginning. Chronic stress creates something far more insidious: persistent low-grade inflammation. Think of it as your body's smoke alarm going off constantly, even when there's no fire.

During my years working with corporate wellness programmes, I've noticed a pattern. The most stressed executives, the ones working 80-hour weeks, constantly checking emails, perpetually "on", often develop what we call the "inflammation profile." Their blood tests show elevated levels of inflammatory markers like interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha, the very same markers we see in metabolic syndrome. It's not just correlation. The research shows that stress literally switches on inflammatory genes, particularly in your visceral fat, that troublesome fat around your organs.

Is belly fat a solved mystery

And talking about fat, here's something that used to puzzle me early in my career: why do some people store fat around their middle whilst others don't? Why do two people with identical diets and exercise routines have completely different body fat distributions? The answer, I now understand, often lies in their stress response patterns. Chronic stress doesn't just make you store more fat, it changes where you store it. Cortisol has a particular affinity for your abdominal region, directing fat storage to your visceral area even when your overall calorie intake remains constant. Therefore, if you're one of the many who are struggling with loosing abdominal fat, maybe is time to look into your stress levels and metabolic health.

A cellular aging accelerator

Another important discovery in recent years is how stress affects us at the cellular level. Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn's Nobel Prize-winning research on telomeres, those protective caps on our chromosomes, has revealed something extraordinary: chronic stress literally ages us from the inside out. When I first learned about this research, I was frankly shaken, maybe because I’m a women… The study showed that women experiencing chronic stress had telomeres that appeared 9-17 years older than their chronological age. That's not just feeling older, that's being older at the cellular level. What's particularly relevant for metabolic health is that these shortened telomeres directly correlate with insulin resistance and diabetes risk. It's as if stress creates a domino effect: psychological stress → cellular aging → metabolic dysfunction → accelerated aging → more stress. A vicious cycle that can feel impossible to break.

Why stress makes you crave crisps

Now, let's talk about something I bet you've experienced: reaching for chocolate when you're stressed. This isn't a lack of willpower, it's biology. Cortisol literally changes your brain's reward pathways, making high-calorie, high-fat foods more appealing. But here's the kicker: stress doesn't just change what you crave, it changes how your body processes what you eat. I've seen research showing that stressed individuals burn approximately 100 fewer calories after a high-fat meal compared to relaxed individuals eating the exact same meal. Your stress response essentially slows down your metabolism whilst simultaneously increasing your appetite for calorie-dense foods. It's like your body is saying: "We're under threat! Store energy! Eat more! Conserve resources!" All perfectly logical for surviving a famine, but rather problematic when the "threat" is a work deadline and the "survival food" is a bag of crisps.

The Gut-Brain highway

One of the most fascinating discoveries in my field has been understanding the gut-brain axis, the bidirectional communication network between your digestive system and your brain. When I started in health education, we barely understood this connection. Now we know it's absolutely crucial for metabolic health. Chronic stress literally changes your gut microbiome, the trillions of bacteria that influence everything from mood to metabolism. I've worked with clients, including myself, whose digestive issues mysteriously resolved not through dietary changes, but through stress management techniques. In very simple terms, their gut bacteria shifted from a "stressed" profile to a "healthy" profile, improving not just their digestion but their blood sugar regulation and inflammation levels.

In my case, during a particularly stressful period in my life, I developed LPR (laryngopharyngeal reflux), a constant burning sensation in my throat combined with a persistent cough. For nearly a year, I tried every treatment my GP suggested: medications, dietary changes, lifestyle modifications. An endoscopy revealed an esophageal valve dysfunction. Mystery solved, right? Except none of the treatments worked. Every morning brought that familiar burn and cough.

It wasn't until I finally addressed my chronic stress issue that something remarkable happened. Within days of tackling my stress triggers, my LPR symptoms simply faded away, like someone had switched off an annoying alarm. Over the following year, it became my personal stress barometer, returning only during brief stressful periods and disappearing once I addressed the underlying tension. That burning throat wasn't just a mechanical problem, it was my digestive system waving a red flag about what was happening in the "control room." A small practical note for fellow LPR sufferers: what gave me immediate relief from the constant burning was good old baking soda mixed with water (1tsp to 1 cup of water), sprayed into my throat a few times a day. Not glamorous, but surprisingly effective.

“Sometimes the most sophisticated treatment is simply listening to what our bodies are trying to tell us.”

A practical path forward

So what can you actually do about this? I would suggest the following, and not because they're trendy, but because they're backed by solid research and, more importantly, they work in real life:

• Daily Reset Practice I always start my day with what I call the "Daily Reset", a simple 10-minute practice that consistently outperforms longer, more complex interventions. Why? Because consistency trumps intensity every time.

When I first began recommending mindfulness practices, I was sceptical myself. But these brief daily practices create what neuroscientists call "neuroplasticity" - rewiring your brain's stress response. Just ten minutes of mindful breathing can measurably reduce cortisol levels and enhance insulin sensitivity. The practice doesn't require clearing your mind completely (impossible anyway) - it's about creating a brief pause that interrupts your body's automatic stress cascade.

• Nature Prescription Here's something delightfully green : just 20-30 minutes in nature, what the Japanese call "forest bathing", can significantly reduce cortisol levels whilst boosting immune function. Not walks with podcasts or phone calls, but genuine time in natural settings. The mechanism is fascinating: nature exposure reduces activity in your prefrontal cortex - the brain region associated with rumination and stress. It's like giving your mental "worry engine" a proper rest. Plus, exposure to diverse plant compounds called phytoncides (the aromatic oils trees release) actually boosts immune function and reduces inflammation. You're literally breathing in medicine.

The key is genuine engagement with natural settings - parks, woodlands, even well-planted urban gardens work. Leave the phone behind, or at least keep it tucked away. This isn't about exercise necessarily (though movement helps); it's about allowing your nervous system to remember what calm feels like.

• A Breath Reset One of the most powerful tools in stress management is also the simplest: your breath. But not just any breathing, specific patterns that activate your parasympathetic nervous system. Here is a simple technique 4-4-8: breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4s, exhale for 8s. The extended exhale is crucial, it signals to your nervous system that you're safe. It might sound like mystical nonsense, but it's pure physiology. Within minutes, this breathing pattern can lower cortisol levels and improve glucose tolerance.

• Social Connection Factor One of the most under-appreciated aspects of stress management is social connection. Quality relationships don't just make us happier, they literally buffer our stress response. Research shows that people with strong social support have a 19% reduced risk of developing diabetes, even after controlling for all other risk factors. There's something profoundly healing about shared experience and mutual support.

The Hopeful Truth

Here's what gives me hope after all these years in health education: your stress response system remains remarkably plastic throughout your life. Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn has a great quote on this:

”How we respond to stress may be as important for our metabolic health as what we eat or how much we exercise. The good news is that our stress response systems remain plastic and responsive to intervention throughout life.”

I've seen 70 year olds learn to manage stress in ways that transform their metabolic health. I've watched executives reverse years of stress induced damage through consistent, simple practices. I've witnessed the profound changes that happen when people understand that their stress response is trainable. Your body isn't broken. Your metabolism isn't mysteriously sluggish. Your stress response system is simply responding to the signals you're giving it. And once you understand this, you can start sending different signals.

This integration of mind and body isn't just a nice concept, it's a metabolic reality. By recognising stress as a crucial component of metabolic health, we open up new possibilities for healing and optimisation. Your stress response doesn't have to be your enemy. With understanding and practice, it can become a powerful ally in your journey toward lasting health.

The question isn't whether you'll face stress, it's how you'll respond to it.