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Foods for Stress: They Can Make or Break Your Bad Mood

food for stress

How stressed are you? Do you know that there are foods for the stress you can either eat or avoid? Yes, what you eat can affect the tension you feel so they can either be good or bad for your health. Some foods can be great fighters for your lousy mood while others can just add to the pressure.

There are edibles we can consider as stress-fighting foods. These are what you need when you are pressed with deadlines, and your calendar is full of ‘exes.’ However, the sad thing about being busy is the lack of time to eat. Whoever has time for food with all the things you need to accomplish, and you’re running out of time?

Stress-fighting Foods to Look for Amidst Your Busyness

If you think you are the same person who doesn’t have the time to eat because of the busy schedule, think again. You should eat to relieve stress. Indeed, you need food to relax. Below are some of the foods you should look for, for your stress relief.

Leafy Greens
Most of the time, people who are stressed look for cheeseburgers, fries, and chocolates for their comfort food. They look for the said edibles because they feel relaxed eating them. This is definitely a wrong practice. If you have also been doing this, now is the perfect time to change that eating habit and start going green at mealtime instead. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson Heather Mangieri shares essential information about green leafy vegetables. She says that spinach, a green leafy vegetable contains folate which produces a pleasure-inducing chemical for the brain which can help you keep calm. Additionally, based on a study which the Journal of Affective Disorders conducted among nearly 3,000 elderly and middle-aged people, it was found that those who ate mostly folate had a lower risk for depression symptoms compared to those who consumed the least.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is not just healthy food but a stress fighter, as well. If you are a carb eater and doughnut is your favorite carbohydrate food, you might want to consider another edible that’s healthier, say, oatmeal. Stress can result in high blood sugar. But if you opt for a complex carb such as oatmeal, it won’t add up to your probable spike in blood sugar.
Salmon
When you are feeling stressed, it can increase your levels of, including levels of cortisol and adrenaline. The omega-3 fatty acids in this fatty fish contain anti-inflammatory properties that help fight the negative impacts of stress hormones. This vital information came from dietetics expert Lisa Cimperman.
Blueberries
The phytonutrients and antioxidants these berries help improve the response of your body to stress. They also fight all the stress-related free radicals. Studies also have it that people who eat blueberries are experiencing a boost in the so-called ‘natural killer cells,’ a white blood cell playing an essential role in the immunity that’s crucial for fighting stress. This fundamental fact is from Health contributing nutrition editor, Cynthia Sass
Pistachio Nuts
When negative thoughts are playing in your mind, it will help if you do something with your hands repeatedly. Great therapy can be shelling nuts, specifically, pistachio nuts. It will help you relax if you do the rhythmic moves of cracking open the shell. By doing so, you also get to slow down your eating, making the nuts your diet-friendly snacks.
Fortified Milk
Milk, especially fortified, is a perfect source of vitamin D, a nutrient possibly boosting happiness. Imagine yourself having adequate vitamin D levels. You surely have less risk for panic disorders and are likely to experience the adverse effects of stress. Other happiness and good mood boosters you can try are green tea, black tea, and chamomile tea because of the relaxation they bring each time you drink any of the three.
Avocado
Avocadoes may have helped fight stress but eating too much of this fruit may lead to gain weight. According to a research made in 2014, if you add half an avocado to your meals can help reduce your desire to eat more by 40% for the next 3 hours after a meal. The full feeling can give you a less tendency to look for unhealthy snacks whenever stress strikes.
Cashews
An ounce of this buttery nut has 11% of the daily recommended amount of zinc, a vital mineral helping reduces anxiety. Relatively, zink zinc impacts the nerve chemical levels that affect mood. If you're receiving sufficient zinc already, it may not then be helpful to your mood to munch on cashews or other foods rich in zinc such as beef, oysters, yogurt and chicken, among others.
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Foods that contribute to stress

If there are foods that help you ease that bad mood or fight stress, there are edibles you should avoid, as well. The foods below may cause anxiety symptoms if you don’t prevent them, or if you continue to eat or drink them plentifully and regularly:

  • Alcohol
  • Caffeine
  • Non-dairy creamer
  • Cultured foods
  • Added sugar

The Takeaway of knowing what foods for stress to eat and avoid

The next time you feel the tension, forget about the comfort foods which are more often than not, unhealthy. There is an array of stress-fighting edibles you can choose from and come to think of it, and they are not expensive at all! These rich foods are even available in the groceries that you won’t have a hard time looking for them.

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