Turns out, although it’s our brain that uses the happy hormone serotonin and the sleep hormone melatonin, they’re made in our gut.In fact, our gut microbiota is reshaped by stress.Stress hormones can cause gut inflammation, and, in extreme cases, might lead to leaky gut and IBS.Our brains also send out signals to encourage us to take on more carbohydrates during times of stress, and sugars don’t help our gut’s situation.If we are trying to mitigate stress through eating more sugar, then we can be adding to the woes of our intestines.
By the way, if you do dive into junk food under stress, help protect your liver. We developed Rise and Shine to support your liver and promote energy levels.Stress kicks your ass, and the rest of you, so showing some love to your body is no bad thing.
For a comforting chocolate or vanilla protein powder that shuns sugar (we use stevia instead), try our range that make delicious shakes, warm drinks, desserts and will even be a hero in your baking.No sugar to wreak gut havoc, but plenty amino acids that help with happy and sleepy hormone production such as tryptophan and tyrosine.Tyrosine also helps out in producing dopamine, being one of its precursors – so if you’re after motivation to cut out stress factors in your life (we could all probably do with picking up and putting away the floordrobe as a quick win, right?) then taking more tyrosine on board could be just the thing!The role of amino acids in the production of neurotransmitters that help mitigate stress can’t be underestimated.