Possibility of developing Stress mediated malnutrition and diseases by improper limiting or restricting or avoiding preferred or specific foods.

To maintain proper nutritional status and health one may be advised to limit, restrict, or avoid some foods for the short, mild, or long term.

Have you ever thought about the consequences of it?

Is it always good to follow dietary advice?

Let’s think differently:

Most of the time advice should be individualized based on his or her needs such as age, sex, physiological conditions, disease profiles, etc. This advice should come from professionals and the community-adopted common practices (proved to be beneficial though the mechanisms are not known) for the long term.

Improper advice or guidance may be harmful due to the accumulation of stress (1,2,5).

How?

1. Improper food and nutrient intake:
2. Changes in acute and chronic nutritional status by changes in taste, appetite, satiety, satiation, mood, etc. (3):
3. Nutrient deficiency diseases:
4. Diseases promoted by deficiency of pre-biotics and probiotics in foods (4):

(Continued…)

*Featured image credit goes to https://www.pexels.com

References:

1. Diet, Stress and Mental Health – PMC (nih.gov)
2. Figure – PMC (nih.gov)
3. Impact of restrictive diets on the risk of undernutrition in a free-living elderly population – PubMed (nih.gov)
4. Dietary restrictions modulate the gut microbiota: Implications for health and disease – PubMed (nih.gov)
5. https://learnutritiononline.com/2023/11/is-it-possible-to-increase-as-well-as-diversify-food-intake-by-reducing-stress

If you are interested to learn more, please visit the following links:

Nutrition and Stress: A Two-way Street – American Society for Nutrition

Position of the American Dietetic Association – Journal of the American Dietetic Association (jandonline.org)

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) (for Parents) – Nemours KidsHealth