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The Impact Stress From the Job Has on Your Nutrition

Chloë Schweinshaut

By: Chloë Schweinshaut

January 31, 2025

Most firefighters are aware of the stress that comes with the job. Less is known, however, about the impact that stress has on your nutrition

Nutrient deficiencies, impaired digestion, blood sugar imbalances and weight issues are all by-products of the strenuous nature of working in the fire service. 

Yes, there’s the obvious strain that comes with fighting fires, but then there are other physical stressors you face on a much more regular basis. Irregular hours and an erratic sleep schedule, the abrupt nature you wake up to on call, eating too quickly and eating too much are all realities of this profession and are stressful for your body.   

Impaired Digestion

As a dietitian who has worked with thousands of firefighters over the years, I can tell you one of the most common problems I see is digestive issues. Things like acid reflux, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, burping, gas, and pain, seem to plague fire services. And for good reason.  This population has a combination of difficult lifestyle factors and eating habits that can impede proper digestion. Things like erratic eating schedules, eating food too quickly, eating late at night or eating too much can all stress out your gut. 

But it’s also a vicious cycle, because many of the GI symptoms that come from these habits can also irritate and stress out your gut. Digestive issues can also be an incredibly frustrating problem to have, because identifying the culprit can be nearly impossible. 

Nutrition-wise, ensuring your plate is balanced, you’re hydrated and consuming enough fiber (25 grams/day for women and 38 grams/day for men) will be a good base, but then lifestyle changes can be just as, if not more effective.  

The first thing I recommend is to slow down eating … way down. You’re aiming for 20 chews per bite of food. Eating too quickly can lead to swallowing a lot of air and can cause bloating, gas and belching. Also, digestion begins in the mouth, and you want to make sure your food gets chewed thoroughly, and your salivary glands get enough time to release all the enzymes needed for proper digestion. In turn, this helps food move through the stomach more efficiently, leading to less digestive distress.

Remember to Breathe

One habit that can help mitigate digestive issues is to focus on breathing before eating. Deep breathing or diaphragmatic breathing is an exercise where you inhale slowly through your nose, expand your stomach, and then breathe out through your mouth. This type of breathing is a great way to help manage stress which we know, in turn, will help improve our gut health. 

For firefighters, utilizing any deep breathing before meals becomes especially crucial after a stressful or physical call. Deep breathing helps our body transition from our sympathetic nervous system (this is responsible for our “fight or flight” response) to our parasympathetic nervous system (this is responsible for our “rest and digest” response.) 

When our parasympathetic nervous system is activated, we stimulate the vagus nerve, which in addition to helping our gut and brain communicate, helps regulate muscle contraction and the secretion of digestive enzymes. 

Also, any type of deep breathing increases our oxygen intake and stimulates blood flow, both of which can promote the absorption of nutrients in the intestinal tract. Another common type of breathing is box breathing, where you exhale all the air from your lungs and then inhale through your nose for four counts, hold for four counts, then exhale for four counts, hold again for four counts and repeat. Whatever type of breathing you choose, aim to do five to 10 cycles before your next big meal. 

Get Up!

Another lifestyle trick to help your digestive system is to stand up for at least 10 minutes after your meal. Just checking the truck out after eating is enough to aid digestion. Better yet, if you’re able to, go for a walk – around the firehouse, on a treadmill, outside – anything! Being on your feet and moving around after a meal will help your body digest food more efficiently, leading to fewer digestive issues. 

Also, research shows that standing and walking after a meal is a great tool to keep blood sugar levels more even after you eat, which can help stave off metabolic issues, such as type II diabetes.

Finally, one of the worst things we can do for our digestive system is to put food in it when our body doesn’t want to be digesting food. Our circadian rhythm dictates our body’s internal clock and prepares it for daily changes in the environment by regulation – when to sleep and when to be awake. 

Firefighters, like all shift workers, are prone to dysregulated circadian rhythms due to the nature of their job. And unfortunately, a messed up circadian rhythm can have negative impacts on all aspects of your health, including digestion. 

When It’s Time to Rest

Factors like the hormones needed for proper digestion and motility to move food through your system are greatly reduced during the night hours because that is when your body thinks it should be resting (even if you’re not.)  

Therefore, food doesn’t get digested as quickly or effectively at night, which can lead to digestive ailments. One of the ways to circumvent this is to not eat late at night (I like to say not past 7 p.m. in ideal world) and don’t eat when you are coming back from calls in the middle of the night.  

The exceptions to these would be if you’re fighting a really big fire and need to replenish your stores. But for all other calls and medicals, you don’t need food. There’s even been a study specific to firefighters working a 24-hour shift that looks at the feasibility of eating in a time-restricted period (i.e. not at night) and it was found that this type of eating was not only feasible but resulted in better cardiometabolic and quality of life outcomes (5.)

Dehydration

Another nutritional consequence of stress is dehydration. Even the slightest amount of dehydration can increase your cortisol levels (which we know can then deplete your nutrients).  

And you’re also more prone to dehydration if your body is stressed out, due to things like rapid breathing and increased heart rate. Because it can be hard to manage and monitor your hydration levels while you’re on-shift, it becomes crucial to control what you can control when you’re able to.  

One of the healthiest habits you can adopt would be to start your day with a big glass of water.  Not only will this help replenish your stores (you can lose up to one liter of water overnight and even more if you snore!) but it will also help set you up for success throughout an unpredictable shift. In general, I recommend you aim to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water per day.  

Nutrient Deficiencies

When the body is under stress, stress hormones get released. And with the release of these hormones, comes the immediate need for more energy. So, in order to mobilize these energy reserves, the body increases its usage and excretion of certain nutrients such as vitamin C, magnesium, iron, zinc and the B vitamins, which in turn, can deplete them from your system.

Another way stress can lead to deficiencies is through the appetite changes that come with emotionally or physically strenuous situations. “Stress eating” can happen when cortisol, a stress hormone, is released for an extended period of time. This can lead to increased food consumption, particularly high-fat and high-sugar foods, which can lead to weight gain.  

Any deficiency in nutrients, particularly the ones depleted by stress, carry with them consequences such as a weakened immune system, lower energy levels, and mental health struggles. Crucial to staying ahead of this is to eat a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats. But because this job does carry with it so many stressors, it can be hard to ensure you’re getting enough of all these vitamins and minerals through food alone. With this population, it can be beneficial to supplement with a high-quality multivitamin, as well. 

The Last Word

Stress isn’t something firefighters can control. And even when you do your best to reduce some stressors, there are others that will always be inevitable.  

Recognizing that stress and nutrition can impact one another is a great way to set your health up for the best success. Having a balanced diet rich in fruits, veggies, grains and healthy fats, and staying hydrated, are two crucial components. Just as important are focusing on lifestyle factors like chewing your food more, breathing before meals, standing up after your meals, and not eating late at night. These will all enable you to deal with the nutrition-related stress that your body is subject to on this job. 

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