Combating Stress with These Natural Foods

When work deadlines begin piling up and your social calendar is booked, the last thing you want to hear is to steer clear of the vending machine. Who has time for healthy eating? During times of stress, we often turn to junk foods such as macaroni and cheese, pizza, and ice cream. Ironically, these high-fat foods are usually the worst possible choices because they can make us feel lethargic and less able to deal with stress. Not only that, but stress can drive up our blood pressure and raise serum cholesterol levels, wreaking havoc on our arteries and increasing our risk of heart attack. 

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 yet, your emotional response.

The best solution? Low-fat, high-fiber, carbohydrate-rich meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables. They soothe us without sapping our energy and give us the nutrients we need to boost our immune system. Here's a guide to which foods reduce stress 

Stress

Green leafy vegetables

It's tempting to reach for a cheeseburger when stressed, but go green at lunch instead. "Green leafy vegetables like spinach contain folate, which produces dopamine, a pleasure-inducing brain chemical, helping you keep calm," says Heather Mangieri, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. A 2012 study in the Journal of Affective Disorders of 2,800 middle-aged and elderly people and found those who consumed the most folate had a lower risk of depression symptoms than those who took in the least. And, a 2013 study from the University of Otago found that college students tended to feel calmer, happier, and more energetic on days they ate more fruits and veggies. It can be hard to tell which came first—upbeat thoughts or healthy eating—but the researchers found that healthy eating seemed to predict a positive mood the next day.

Green leafy Vegetables

Oatmeal

If you're already a carb lover, it's likely that nothing can come between you and a doughnut when stress hits. First rule of thumb: Don't completely deny the craving. According to MIT research, carbohydrates can help the brain make serotonin, the same substance regulated by antidepressants. But instead of reaching for that sugary bear claw, go for complex carbs. "Stress can cause your blood sugar to rise, Mangieri says, "so a complex carb like oatmeal won't contribute to your already potential spike in blood glucose."

Oat meal

Milk and Yogurt

Fortified milk is an excellent source of vitamin D, a nutrient that might boost happiness. A 50-year-long study by London's UCL Institute of Child Health found an association between reduced levels of vitamin D and an increased risk of panic and depression among 5,966 men and women. People who had sufficient vitamin D levels had a reduced risk of panic disorders compared to subjects with the lowest levels of vitamin D. Other foods high in vitamin D include salmon, egg yolks, and fortified cereal.

Milk and yogurt

Dark chocolate

Calling all chocoholics: a regular healthy indulgence (just a bite, not a whole bar!) of dark chocolate might have the power to regulate your stress levels. "Research has shown that it can reduce your stress hormones, including cortisol," Sass says. "Also, the antioxidants in cocoa trigger the walls of your blood vessels to relax, lowering blood pressure and improving circulation. And finally, dark chocolate contains unique natural substances that create a sense of euphoria similar to the feeling of being in love!" Go for varieties that contain at least.

Dark Chocolate

Avocado

You can't just reach for slice after slice of avocado toast during crunch time if you don't want to gain weight, but this superfruit might help shut down stress-eating by filling your belly and making you feel more satisfied. In a 2014 study by Loma Linda University (which, full disclosure, was sponsored by the Hass Avocado Board), researchers had participants add half an avocado to their lunches, which reduced their desire to eat more by 40% for the three hours following the midday meal. That full feeling will make you less inclined to reach for unhealthy snacks when stress kicks in.

Avocados

Blueberries

"When you're stressed, there's a battle being fought inside you," Mangieri says. "The antioxidants and phytonutrients found in berries can help to fight in your body defense system, it helps to improve your body's response to stress and fight stress-related free radicals." Research has also shown that blueberry eaters experience a boost in natural killer cells, "a type of white blood cell that plays a vital role in immunity, critical for countering stress," says Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, Health's contributing nutrition editor.

Blueberries

Foods to Avoids

• High-fat foods: Fatty foods such as meat or cheese dishes and many baked goods thicken our blood which in turn makes us feel tired, even lethargic. This is clearly not a good way to reduce stress! Even just one high-fat meal can increase our risk of a heart attack.



High Fat Foods

• Caffeine: Many of us deal with a stress-induced lack of sleep by turning to coffee, tea, and colas. Unfortunately, caffeine stays in our systems longer than many realize. Cutting back on caffeine can help with both sleeping problems and jitters.



No Caffeine

• Sugar: As a carbohydrate, sugar tends to calm us. The problem with sugar is that it's a simple carbohydrate so it enters and leaves the bloodstream rapidly, causing us to, in effect, "crash." On the other hand, complex carbohydrates?such as pasta, beans, and lentils, the starchy parts of foods?soothe without bringing us down.



No Sugar

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7 Ways to Relieve Your Stress

Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Your true sources of stress aren't always obvious, and it’s all too easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress.

To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:

• Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?
• Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”).
• Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?

Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control

Below is some ways to relief your stress:

1. Meditation

A few minutes of practice per day can help ease anxiety. “Research suggests that daily meditation may alter the brain’s neural pathways, making you more resilient to stress,” says psychologist Robbie Maller Hartman, PhD, a Chicago health and wellness coach.

Meditation helps to relieve stress

It's simple. Sit up straight with both feet on the floor. Close your eyes. Focus your attention on reciting -- out loud or silently -- a positive mantra such as “I feel at peace” or “I love myself.” Place one hand on your belly to sync the mantra with your breaths. Let any distracting thoughts float by like clouds.

2. Take a Deep Breath

Take a 5-minute break and focus on your breathing. Sit up straight, eyes closed, with a hand on your belly. Slowly inhale through your nose, feeling the breath start in your abdomen and work its way to the top of your head. Reverse the process as you exhale through your mouth.

Take a deep deep breath

“Deep breathing counters the effects of stress by slowing the heart rate and lowering blood pressure,” psychologist Judith Tutin, PhD, says. She's a certified life coach in Rome, GA.

3. Slow down your Pace

“Take 5 minutes and focus on only one behavior with awareness,” Tutin says. Notice how the air feels on your face when you’re walking and how your feet feel hitting the ground. Enjoy the texture and taste of each bite of food. When you spend time in the moment and focus on your senses, you should feel less tense.

Enjoy your break

4. Laugh Out Loud (LOL)

A good belly laugh doesn't just lighten the load mentally. It lowers cortisol, your body’s stress hormone, and boosts brain chemicals called endorphins, which help your mood. Lighten up by tuning in to your favorite sitcom or video, reading the comics, or chatting with someone who makes you smile.

Joy of Laughter

5. Exercises

You don’t have to run in order to get a runner’s high. All forms of exercise, including yoga and walking, can ease depression and anxiety by helping the brain release feel-good chemicals and by giving your body a chance to practice dealing with stress. You can go for a quick walk around the block, take the stairs up and down a few flights, or do some stretching exercises like head rolls and shoulder shrugs.

Exercise helps too

6. Avoid Unhealthy Habits

Don't rely on alcohol, smoking and caffeine as your ways of coping. Drinking will only make things worst and cause even more harm. Over the long term, these crutches won’t solve your problems. They’ll just create new ones. "It’s like putting your head in the sand," says Professor Cooper. "It might provide temporary relief but it won’t make the problems disappear. You need to tackle the cause of your stress."

Smoking damage your health

7. Help other people

Studies show evidence that when people who help others, through activities such as volunteering or community work, become more resilient.

 “Helping people who are often in situations worse than yours will help you put your problems into perspective,” 

says Professor Cooper.

 “The more you give, the more resilient and happy you feel.”

If you don't have time to volunteer, try to do someone a favor every day. It can be something as small as helping someone to cross the road or going on a coffee run for colleagues. Favors cost nothing to do, and you’ll feel better.

Helping others, helps you too

Unhealthy ways of coping with stress

These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the long run:

• Smoking
• Procrastinating
• Sleeping too much

• 

  Sleeping too much

• Drinking too much
• Over-eating or not eating
• Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities 
• Using pills or drugs to relax



Having pills is not an option

• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
• Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

These activities only will make things even worst.

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Healthy Eating as You Age: Eating More Fiber

Eating foods high in dietary fiber can do so much more than keep you regular. It can lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, improve the health of your skin, help you lose weight, and boost your immune system and overall health. 

As you age, your digestion becomes less efficient, so it’s important to include enough fiber in your diet. Women over 50 should aim to eat at least 21 grams of fiber per day, men over 50 at least 30 grams a day. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t getting even half those amounts. 

In general, the more natural and unprocessed the food, the higher it is in fiber. 

• Good sources of fiber include whole grains, wheat cereals, barley, oatmeal, beans, nuts, vegetables such as carrots, celery, and tomatoes, and fruits such as apples, berries, citrus fruits, and pears—further reason to add more fruit and vegetables to your diet. 
• An easy way to add more fiber to your diet is to start your day with a high-fiber, whole grain cereal. Simply switching your breakfast cereal from Corn Flakes to Bran Flakes can add about 6 extra grams of fiber to your diet. If you’re not a fan of high-fiber cereals, try adding a couple of tablespoons of unprocessed wheat bran and fresh or dried fruit to your favorite cereal. 
• Eat whole fruits instead of drinking fruit juice. You’ll get more fiber and consume fewer calories. An 8 oz. glass of orange juice, for example, contains almost no fiber and about 110 calories, while one medium fresh orange contains about 3g of fiber and only 60 calories. Peeling can reduce the amount of fiber in fruit, so try to eat the peel of apples and pears. 
• Liven up dull salads by adding nuts, seeds, kidney beans, peas, or black beans. You can also make tasty high-fiber additions to soups and stews by adding peas, beans, lentils, and rice.

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