Chew on this. Your saliva can tell exactly how stressed you are. By merely dipping a strip in it, you can accurately determine your level of stress.Of course, few will feel the need to go to a chemist and buy Ph strips and check their acid states (precipitated by stress) first thing in the morning. But it’s important to know that stress affects every single part of our body and psyche. You could be a student or housewife, an executive or businessman, a celebrity or politician, or just a born worrier, but your body will release stress hormones that put your blood sugar out of balance, create acidity and lower your immune function. “You are as healthy as your immune system,” says Dr Anjali Mukerjee, nutritionist and doctor of alternate medicine from the Indian Council of Alternate Medicine. “Once stress weakens the immune system, you will be prone to anything from common cold to cancer.” Mukerjee should know. For the past 20 years, she has not only used food therapy, Ayurveda and chiropractic healing to manage a range of health problems among her patients, but has also treated them for stress at her seven Health Total centres in Mumbai and Delhi. “Food therapy works wonders,” Mukerjee says. She gives a few guidelines to balance blood sugar levels, detox the system and reduce acidity—in other words, to counteract the effects of stress. Eat regular, small meals and a good breakfast (yoghurt with sprouts, eggs, wholewheat bread, veggie juices) and healthy snacks (raisins, nuts, wholegrain biscuits) in between meals.
