Stress is the physical and mental reaction to what is happening in our lives. Everyone experiences this at some point in their life. Some stress can be necessary. For example, if there were cars whizzing by you there may be a natural sense of stress. A sense of danger and a reaction of apprehension about the speed, the sound, the number of cars. It causes you to pause, to take the time to look for oncoming traffic before stepping off the curb. This small amount of stress is natural and necessary.

Too much stress can be unhealthy. There is a direct correlation between mental and spiritual stress and physical health. Whether it’s high blood pressure, poor sleep, or headaches – letting your stress levels get out of control may have an impact on your health.

Out of Our Control But the Center of Our Mind

The stress that is out of our control is the stuff of madness. Money stresses, relationship stresses, job stress, and pressure to succeed. These are all examples of stress caused by forces that we cannot control. The secret to reducing stress in our lives is to bring more things under our control. The unknown is very stressful. You don’t know what your daughter’s wedding is going to cost and it is stressful to think about it. You don’t know what your boss is going to expect of you next and it may be something awful and difficult.

The Impact of Stress

The trouble with stress is what it does to our body while we are trying to solve these problems. Your body is naturally reacting to the synapse sent out by your body. Your hypothalamus sends out the orders: your heart races, your breathing quickens, your muscles are ready for action. The muscles tightening in your head cause a headache. You can’t sleep. The muscles surrounding the stomach are tightened and cause heartburn. Your pancreas is pumping out more glucose into your bloodstream, and in some cases causing type 2 diabetes in a once perfectly healthy body. Now your immune system is weakened and can’t fight off the flu virus that you came in contact with. These are all physical symptoms to a condition that is happening inside your body – stress!

Healthy Options for Relief

The way to combat this is to control as many aspects of your life as possible while acknowledging you can’t control everything. Some parts of your life are going to be out of your control and that is okay. You can’t do anything about the traffic, you can’t control other people’s actions or attitudes, and you can’t change the weather. Acknowledge the areas of your life you can’t fully control, and start tackling the ones you can.

For some people, something as simple as hiring a few hours of help with the kids a week or hiring a gardener gives a lot of relief. Shopping online, using automatic bill pay, or switching to a meal service can save a lot of time and energy.

At Z.E.N. Foods we aren’t just delivering delicious and nutritious meals, we are delivering a break from the stresses of life. Figuring out a nightly dinner, sticking to a healthy diet, and shopping for and preparing food can be stressful.

Enjoying a meal delivery service like Z.E.N. takes the worry and stress out of meal preparation. It is a great way to put more control into a very important area of your life. We handle the planning, shopping, and cooking. You sit back and enjoy our nutritious food while taking back control of your diet.