How Does Stress Affect Eating Habits?
People usually react to stress in one of two ways: Some eat excessively to distract themselves from work; while others skip meals. Both situations decrease productivity. The overeater’s blood is diverted from the brain to the stomach, and the under-eater deprives his or her brain of essential nutrients.

How Should You Eat To Be At Your Best?
People should either eat three small meals combined with two “power snacks,” or five mini-meals a day. Eating smaller meals throughout the day helps people think more clearly by keeping their blood sugar at a constant level. This also allows the overeater to eat fairly frequently and gives the under-eater smaller, easier-to-digest portions.

Which Foods Can Cause Stress?
Listen to your body to determine which foods agree with your stomach. In general, it’s good to avoid fatty foods when you have important work to do because they take five to seven hours to digest. You don’t want your blood leaving your brain to sit in your stomach. Most people have trouble with gas-producing foods like brussel sprouts, broccoli, kidney beans and lima beans. And watch out for spices, MSG and salt— they can upset your stomach, too.

Which Can Help Your Performance?
Recent reports show foods that are high in carbohydrates release a calming chemical called serotonin, while proteins contain the amino acid tyrosine, which increases alertness. But one important nutrient that’s often overlooked when it comes to performance is water. The average office worker loses 10 cups of water a day. And because caffeine is a diuretic, coffee drinkers get even more dehydrated. Replacing lost fluids requires a minimum of eight 8-ounce glasses of caffeine-free liquids a day.

Should You Avoid Coffee Altogether?
The morning cup of coffee is not the problem. Studies even show that two cups of coffee can temporarily increase alertness. It’s the four-cup coffee drinker who needs to cut down because it is dehydrating and will cause stomach-acid secretion. If you want to cut out coffee, do it gradually. Try cutting your daily intake by one cup of coffee every two weeks, mixing regular with decaf, drinking instant, which has less caffeine, or using a smaller mug.

What’s The Best Way to Change Eating Habits?
Pick one area to start-fluids, mini-meals or caffeine and stick to it for one to two weeks. If you have one day when you eat something that is high in fat or you drink too much caffeine, don’t think you have blown your whole diet. Make trade-offs with yourself. Have something better for your next meal. Think about progress instead of perfection. Any move that you make in the right direction will decrease the physiological effects of stress.