Never-ending deadlines at work, busy social schedules or strained relationships; with so much going on in life, eating healthy is the last thing on our mind.
Nearly 40 percent of Indians report overeating or eating unhealthy foods as a result of stress. While it may seem tempting to drown your anxiety in a bowl of ice cream or calm your nerves with a bag of chips… eating junk foods while stressed may be particularly dangerous to your health. But when it comes to combating stress levels, what you eat may actually help relieve your tension. Indeed, some foods may help stabilize blood sugar or better your emotional response. Here, are some foods to reach for when you’ve just about had enough.
Stress-Busting Foods:
Complex Carbs: All carbs prompt the brain to make more serotonin. Good choices include whole-grain breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals, including old-fashioned oatmeal. It also help you feel balanced by stabilizing blood sugar levels.
Warm oatmeal: a bowl of warm oatmeal, boost levels of serotonin, a calming brain chemical.
Oranges: Oranges make the list for their wealth of vitamin C. Studies suggest this vitamin C can curb levels of stress hormones while strengthening the immune system.
Spinach: Too little magnesium may trigger headaches and fatigue, which are the effects of stress. One cup of spinach helps you stock back up on magnesium or try some cooked soybeans or a fillet of salmon, also high in magnesium.
Fatty Fish: Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish such as salmon and tuna, can prevent surges in stress hormones and may help protect against heart disease, depression, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Pistachios & almonds: They are chock-full of helpful vitamins: vitamin E to bolster the immune system, plus B vitamins, which may make you more resilient during bouts of stress or depression. Don’t overdo it, though: Nuts are rich in calories.
Avocados: One of the best ways to reduce high blood pressure is to get enough potassium, and half an avocado has more potassium than a medium-sized banana. Avocados are high in fat and calories, though, so watch your portion size.
Raw Veggies Crunchy raw vegetables can help ease stress in a purely mechanical way. Munching celery or carrot sticks helps release a clenched jaw, and that can ward off tension.
Milk Another bedtime stress buster is the time-honoured glass of warm of skim milk. Research shows that calcium eases anxiety and mood swings linked to PMS.
Blueberries: Anthocyanin’s are the pigments that give berries like blueberries and blackberries their deep colour. These antioxidants aid your brain in the production of dopamine, a chemical that is critical to coordination, memory function, and your mood. So have them as a snack options when you feel like eating sweets when you’re stressed.
Dark Chocolate: The bit of your favourite chocolate calms you is due to a chemical reason behind it called anandamide, a neurotransmitter produced in the brain that temporarily blocks feelings of pain and depression.
Chocolate dipped strawberry: When you’re stressed, you may be tempted to house every sweet treat in sight rather munch on strawberries dipped in dark chocolate. The vitamin C in the berries can fight body-damaging free radicals and the dark chocolate may help reduce stress hormones like cortisol.
Chamomile tea: Ever since ancient Greeks began enjoying chamomile tea, it has been praised for its healing properties. Drink one cup three times a day.
Sunshine: Daily dose of sunshine might help stabilize your mood. Serotonin, the brain hormone associated with mood elevation, rises with exposure to bright light. Low vitamin D levels are also associated with an increased risk of panic disorders. While you can get some vitamin D in foods like salmon, egg yolks, and mushrooms.
De-Stress With Exercise: Besides changing your diet, one of the best stress-busting strategies is to start exercising. Aerobic exercise boosts oxygen circulation and spurs your body to make feel-good chemicals called endorphins. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise like walks three to four times a week.
Lavender herb: This herb has a soothing scent that can lower your heart rate and blood pressure, both of which can help you relax and even drift off to sleep. Put dried lavender in a vase near your bed or slather on moisturizer infused with lavender.
Aromatherapy: The sense of smell bypasses the cognitive brain (the bit that does the worrying). Light some incense e.g. nag champa or sandalwood. Burn some aromatherapy oils such as lavender or rose. Or just wear your favourite perfume or cologne.
Breathe: The more anxious you become, breathing becomes shallower and higher in the chest. Consciously lengthen your breath, breathing deeper into the belly. Count to three on the in-breath, and four on the out-breath.
Warm water bath where you can also add chamomile, along with other calming herbs such as lavender and valerian, to bathwater for a nerve-soothing soak. Wrap the dried herbs in a pc of cheesecloth and hold it under the faucet while you fill the tub.
Music can reduce heart rate, blood pressure, and even levels of stress hormones in the blood. Take a break and listen to music you find soothing, whether it’s classical, jazz, or something else.
Limit your consumption of alcohol, caffeine, and sugar; and if you smoke, QUIT! All of these substances can fire up your body’s fight-or-flight response, contributing to physical symptoms of stress like a racing heart, trembling, clammy hands, anxiety, and irritability.
So the next time you feel stressed, you know about eating right and calming yourself without feeling guilty later. Be happy and be healthy.