If you’ve been feeling stressed out lately or have been dealing with chronic stress for some time, you’ve probably searched for numerous ways to find relief. Long bouts of stress negatively impact the body, which can lead to various mental and physical illnesses. Having a plan to better manage this can help you restore or maintain wellness. An important component of such a plan is to incorporate foods in your diet that include key nutrients found to reduce stress.
Here are a few of those foods:
- Green Leafy Vegetables
Leafy greens are rich in magnesium. Magnesium is an important mineral that causes muscle relaxation and relief of tension. Increasing your intake of leafy greens can help strengthen your body’s stress response.
- Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds contains essential fatty acids that are beneficial for brain function. These essential fatty acids help to raise serotonin levels boosting a sense of wellbeing which enables your brain to better cope with stress.
- Oatmeal
This is a complex carbohydrate which aids in balancing blood sugar, and decreases the level of stress hormone in the brain. Oatmeal also helps relieve stress by the release of serotonin.
- Protein
Protein-rich foods like legumes—beans, peas, lentils — contain amino acids that help produce certain neurotransmitters in the brain which aids in reduction of stress and anxiety. Protein also provides tryptophan for mood support.
- Nuts
Nuts and seeds are high in magnesium and B vitamins which aid in calming, strengthening and protecting the nervous system. Nuts and seeds also contain healthy fatty acids which can help reduce stress and blood pressure levels.
- Asparagus
This nutrient-dense vegetable is rich in the B vitamin folate. B vitamins help to maintain a healthy nervous system that allow the body to effectively fight off the symptoms of stress and anxiety.
- Berries
Not only are berries loaded with fiber and antioxidants, they have high levels of vitamins C. Vitamin C aids the body in normalizing blood pressure and cortisol levels.
- Sweet potatoes
Studies have shown that eating nutrient-dense carbohydrates, like sweet potatoes, help to lower cortisol (a stress hormone) in the body, which can reduce inflammation and other adverse effects.
- Garlic
Besides containing stress-reducing nutrients like vitamin C, and magnesium, garlic is abundant in sulfur compounds that help to increase levels of glutathione in the body. Glutathione is an antioxidant that helps your body fight against stress.
- Broccoli
This cruciferous, cancer-fighting vegetable contains a compound known as sulforphane that has neuroprotective properties which have been shown to provide calming and antidepressant effects. Broccoli is also rich in magnesium, vitamin C, and folate that help to reduce stress.
While the aforementioned foods can be important weapons in your stress-management arsenal you shouldn’t look to them for instant results. Stress-reducing foods should be considered as a part of a long-term plan to gradually nourish and strengthen your body against stress. For more immediate solutions to better stress management you may want to consider strategies like regular exercise, adequate sleep, plenty of water, re-evaluating how you look at stressors, and prayer.
Sources:
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/stress-relieving-foods
- https://health.clevelandclinic.org/eat-these-foods-to-reduce-stress-and-anxiety/
- https://www.allinahealth.org/healthysetgo/nourish/top-foods-to-relieve-stress
- Photo by Towfiqu Barbhuiya