The Holiday season is coming around again and with it comes all the pressure and added stress of the season. More parties, more commitment and as many of us know at the end of it all more weight.  New research is pointing to chronic stress as a significant trigger to overeating and obesity as well as may give a new meaning to the term comfort food.

In the news, another syndrome has been identified termed night-eating syndrome (NES). The symptoms can include a lack of appetite for breakfast, the consumption of more than 50 percent of daily calories after the evening meal, and in many instances waking up, at least, once a night to consume high-carbohydrate snacks.  While NES is seemingly uncommon in the general population, studies report that it may occur in up to approximately one-fourth of obese persons. NES was first described in 1955 and signs include[i]:

• Lack of or decreased appetite during the day
• Insomnia
• Increased appetite at night
• Evening hyperphagia (increased eating) and nocturnal eating (arising to eat after having gone to bed)
• Feeling tense, anxious, worried, or guilty while eating starchy foods.

The most striking sign is that there is a consistency of  eating  carbohydrate-rich foods continuously through out the evening and night. In the past, the causes of NES have not been understood, however a great deal of research is going into the effects of chronic stress on appetite.   Researchers have studied the brain chemical patterns and stress hormone levels that are secreted from the adrenal glands in a group of people with NES and compared these to normal controls.[ii] Scientists found that levels of melatonin – the hormone that helps us fall asleep and stay asleep at night – were significantly reduced in NES sufferers.[iii] Similarly, leptin – the hormone that suppresses appetite – didn’t rise to normal levels in night-eaters, suggesting that their hunger pangs may be extreme enough to disturb sleep. Finally, cortisol –often called the ‘stress hormone’ that kicks in when we’re feeling tense – was elevated at night in the group with NES, further enticing them to wake up and head to the kitchen.[iv] Under chronic stress cortisol levels go up.  Cortisol elevation is linked to a wide array of biochemical disruptions in the body and may be the reason that chronic stress is a major contributor to a host of conditions and diseases such as heart disease, anxiety, sleep disorders, autoimmune disorders and also causes immune system changes.  [v]

So the impact of chronic stress is insidious and leads to a real disruption in metabolism on many fronts.  Chronic stress causes cortisol levels to rise in the body.  As cortisol levels rise our body becomes more insulin resistant so we store fat more easily.  As stress continues are serotonin levels dip causing us to have disturbed sleep  which also alters growth hormone release and blood sugar regulation.  In addition as serotonin levels drop we begin to crave comfort foods more!  Meanwhile, as the cortisol goes up, it lowers our DHEA pool ( pro-hormone) goes down resulting in a change in the production of sex hormones usually resulting in a decrease in sex drive.  Cortisol also causes you to store fat through disrupting blood sugar regulation. Lastly, as cortisol goes up in the body it burns up available tyrosine which is an amino acid needed for thyroid hormone production, and the conversion of T4 (less active thyroid hormone) to T3 (more active thyroid hormone) goes down. This results in a lowering in your metabolism because T3 is the thyroid hormone responsible for telling your cells to burn fat and also to use suagar.  So the end result from chronic stress is:

• CRAVE MORE
• EAT MORE
• STORE MORE FAT
• BURN LESS FAT AND SUGAR
• DISTURB SLEEP

Does this sound like you?   You have gained 20,30 or even 40 pounds over the last five years.  Your feeling stressed, not able to quite understand the cravings? Your sex drive is down and you don't know why?   Coffee for breakfast, coffee for lunch, using the stress "rush" to get through till the end of the day and then at 5 PM the appetite signals get loud and clear.   Many people will describe this evening graze as if they have no control over it, and in a sense they are right.  Your brain is literally telling you to go for the high carbohydrate, high sugar foods.  How many times has this happened to you, going for just one cookie or chip, then 5 minutes later half of the bag is gone.  At first there is almost a sense of euphoria that you are rewarding yourself, and indeed you are. You are triggering the reward cascade in the brain.

What Can We Do?

So we know that NES may be caused by chronic stress. So how can you help your body not to succumb to the cravings? First, you have learn to control your stress levels throughout the day. Exercise, use meditation or have a quiet place to retreat to when you’re stressed out. Eating a diet that’s low in refined sugars (such as in white breads, candies, cookies, soft drinks and the like) and higher in lean proteins and veggies helps decrease the stress of blood sugar fluctuations on our bodies. Eat meals at regular times each day (it’s best not to eat after 7pm). Drinking plenty of quality water during the day also helps decrease the stress and fatigue commonly seen around mid-day and early afternoon. Behavior modification is a must to help walk you off the ledge of carbohydrate addiction.   Balancing biochemical imbalances with behavior change can create lasting benefits for managing your response to stress and the eating patterns that it triggers.

Dietary supplements may also help our body decrease stress and keep us from eating at all times of the night. A quality multiple vitamin is necessary in our daily routine, which includes the B vitamins (reported to support a healthy nervous system[vi]) and vitamin C (an important “anti-stress” vitamin[vii]). Also, the following supplements are helpful in decreasing stress and helping to curb late-night eating.

• Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea) - Rhodiola, or Arctic root, has been used in traditional folk medicine in China, Serbia, and the Carpathian Mountains of the Ukraine.  In the former Soviet Union, it has been used to decrease fatigue and increase the body’s natural resistance to various stresses.  Rhodiola seems to enhance the body's physical and mental work capacity and productivity, with actions related to strengthening the nervous system, fighting depression, enhancing immunity, elevating the capacity for exercise, enhancing memorization, improving energy levels and possibly prolonging the life span.[viii] The recommended dosage of rhodiola is 50-100mg 2 times a day, standardized to contain 1% salidrosid and/or 40-50% phenylpropenoids per dose.

• 5-HTP - 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) is used in the manufacture of serotonin – the “calming” chemical in the brain. In the body, the food-derived essential amino acid tryptophan is converted to 5-HTP, which is then converted to serotonin.  5-HTP has been reported to enhance serotonin synthesis, aiding the body in sleep, mood disorders, and more specifically for our program weight loss.[ix] The more serotonin utilized, the fewer cravings for such food items as sweets and carbohydrates.[x] Doses range from 50-300mg per day.  If you are on antidepressants, make sure that you consult your health care professional  before using 5HTP.

• Relora® - Relora contains patented ingredients extracted from 2 plants that have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 1500 years - Phellodendron amurense and Magnolia officinalis. Relora helps to relieve stress and anxiety.[xi] It works with the body's natural chemistry to maintain normal levels of stress hormones, hormones that not only affect your emotional well-being, but can also have a major impact on how your body controls anxiety. Relora  seems to help control occasional mild anxiety and the symptoms associated with anxiety, such as irritability, emotional ups and downs, restlessness, tense muscles, poor sleep, fatigue and difficulty concentrating.[xii] In addition, it has another important benefit: it doesn’t seem to cause drowsiness – the problem associated with most prescription drugs for anxiety. A recent human study was conducted to determine if Relora was effective in the relief of anxiety, irritability and stress.[xiii] An astounding 82% of the users in the study reported that Relora helped control irritability, emotional ups and downs, restlessness, tense muscles, poor sleep, fatigue and concentration difficulties. These findings demonstrate that the plant extracts found in Relora provide significant relaxation and more restful sleep in stressed and anxious individuals. As a dietary supplement, take 1 capsule (250mg) 2-3 times per day with water or your favorite beverage.  Do not take this if you are currently on anti anxiety medication.

[i] Allen RP. Article reviewed: Behavioral and neuroendocrine characteristics of the night-eating syndrome.
Sleep Med.. 2000 Feb 1;1(1):67-68.

[ii] Birketvedt GS, Florholmen J, Sundsfjord J.  Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the night eating syndrome. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Feb;282(2):E366-9.

[iii] Birketvedt GS, Florholmen J, Sundsfjord J, et al.,  Behavioral and neuroendocrine characteristics of the night-eating syndrome. JAMA. 1999 Aug 18;282(7):657-63.

[iv] Schulz C, Wieczorek I, Reschke K, et al., Effects of intracerebroventricularly and intraperitoneally administered growth hormone on body weight and food intake in fa/fa Zucker rats. Neuropsychobiology. 2002;45(1):36-40.

[v] Lundgerg U. Coping with Stress: Neuroendocrine Reactions and Implications for Health. Noise Health. 1999;1(4):67-74.

[vi] McCarty MF. High-dose pyridoxine as an 'anti-stress' strategy. Med Hypotheses. 2000 May;54(5):803-7.

[vii] S Kojo, K Tanaka, et al. [Oxidative Stress and Vitamins]. Nippon Rinsho. Oct 1999;57(10): 2325-31.

[viii] NN Rege, et al. Adaptogenic Properties of Six Rasayana Herbs Used in Ayurvedic Medicine. Phytother Res. Jun 1999;13(4):  275-91.

[ix] Kahn RS, et al., L-5-hydroxytryptophan in the treatment of anxiety disorders. J Affect Disord. Mar 1985; 8(2): 197-200.

[x] Cangiano C, et al., Eating behavior and adherence to dietary prescriptions in obese adult subjects treated with 5-hydroxytryptophan. Am J Clin Nutr. Nov 1992; 56(5): 863-67.

[xi] Sufka KJ, Roach JT, Chambliss, WG Jr, et al. Anxiolytic properties of botanical extracts in the chick social separation-stress procedure. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2001 Jan 1;153(2):219-24.

[xii] Nick GL. Stress-related eating and metabolic syndrome: an important cause of obesity among women. Townsend Letter (Dec 2002): 50–52.

[xiii] Data On File, Next Pharmaceuticals.