What to eat to beat stress
They say it’s not so much what you eat as what’s eating you that’s affecting your health. Survey says that about 40 percent of Americans overeat or eat unhealthy foods to beat stress. This stress-induced eating leads to weight gain, which causes more stress — and the vicious cycle goes on!
But did you know that there are foods that can help you beat stress, calm you down, and even boost your spirits (yes, in the middle of a hair-pulling deadline or horrendous city traffic, or preparing for the coming holiday season)?
And what are the best stress-busting foods? Mercola.com lists the top 10 foods “that can make you feel calmer and lessen the damage that stress does to your body: 1) dark chocolate, 2) protein, 3) bananas, 4) coffee, 5) turmeric, 6) purple berries, 7) omega-3 fats, 8) fermented foods, 9) oolong tea, 10) kiwi. Some of these items may already be on your list (yours and mine).
1) Dark chocolate. Chocolate is my best friend, I haven’t met one I didn’t like. As chocoholics would swear, biting into a chocolate bar is pure, unadulterated bliss! Experts say that what gives one a chocolate high is a chemical called anandamide, “a neurotransmitter produced in the brain that temporarily blocks feelings of pain and depression.” (Fact is, anandamide is derived from the Sanskrit word
ananda, which means bliss.) Chocolate is not called “the new anti- anxiety drug” for nothing. Aside from producing the anandamide compound, chocolate contains other chemicals that enhance the feel-good properties of anandamide.
According to a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, “people who drank an antioxidant-rich chocolate drink equal to about 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate daily felt calmer than those who did not.”
2) Protein. Want to keep your blood sugar level steady and your mood and energy up? Why not try a bit of high-quality protein, such as organic eggs, a piece of cheese, or a handful of macadamia nuts or pecans?
3) Bananas. Why go bananas? Because bananas contain dopamine, “a natural reward chemical that boosts your mood.” Bananas are also rich in B vitamins, like vitamin B6, “which help soothe your nervous system,” and magnesium, which induces a positive mood.
4) Coffee. Some people can’t do without their caffeine fix. (I don’t drink coffee so I get my fix from hot choco.) Research shows that “coffee triggers a mechanism in the brain that releases BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor), which activates your brain stem cells to produce new neurons, thus improving your brain health.”
Research also suggests that low BDNF levels may play a vital role in depression, and that increasing your BDNF could have an antidepressant effect.
5) Turmeric (curcumin). Some people call it yellow ginger. Curcumin, the pigment that gives the spice turmeric its yellow-orange color, is associated with many medicinal benefits — for instance, it’s got neuroprotective properties and may enhance one’s mood, possibly warding off depression.
6) Purple berries. The prohibitive cost of berries may stress you, but berries (blueberries, blackberries) contain anthocyanins — antioxidants that help the brain produce dopamine, a chemical that’s crucial in memory function and your mood. Berry good, right?
7) Omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fats (such as EPA and DHA) could be the alpha and omega of your emotional well-being. A study
published in Brain Behavior and Immunity showed a dramatic 20-percent decrease in anxiety among medical students who took omega-3. Past research shows “omega-3 fats work just as well as antidepressants in preventing the signs of depression, but without any of the side effects.” Please pass the salmon! 8) Oolong tea. Now, here’s one tea- tillating fact: Simply sipping oolong tea could make you feel calm, because it’s got “high levels of gamma- aminobutyric acid (GABA), an amino acid that helps inhibit the firing of neurons in your brain for an overall calming, antianxiety effect.”
Coffee or tea? Make that oolong tea!
9) Fermented foods. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, “Fermented foods, like fermented vegetables and kefir, are rich in beneficial bacteria that have a marked impact on your gut health, which in turn impacts your mood. Your gut is literally your second brain (some stomachs have a mind of their own) — created from the identical tissue as your brain during gestation — and contains larger amounts of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with mood control.”
He adds, “Beneficial bacteria have a direct effect on brain chemistry, transmitting mood-and be-havior-regulating signals to your brain via your vagus nerve. For instance, the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus was found to have a marked effect on GABA levels in certain brain regions and lowered the stress induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety-and depression related behavior .”
10) Kiwi. Kiwi (or Chinese gooseberry) contains “more than 85 percent of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C, which helps reduce your body’s production of stress hormones while boosting your immune function ( so much the better for warding off stress-induced illness).”
Still stressing over getting stressed? Well, here’s another one that may help: Mushroom. “Mushrooms are rich in the antioxidant selenium, low levels of which have been linked to anxiety.” Also, researchers from New York University are getting a new high from working with the hallucinogen psilocybin (which is found in more than 200 species of mushrooms) as a treatment for cancer-related anxiety.
And what are the worst stress-inducing foods? The winners, I mean sinners, are:
1) Sugar, which can cause fluctuations in blood sugar and bring on mood swings. Fact is, in the long run, sugar disrupts the normal functioning of your immune system, which makes one prone to a greater risk of depression.
2) Gluten (a protein found in grains such as wheat, rye, and barley), which may negatively impact mood and brain health. Studies show that gluten may even cause more serious mental health problems such as schizophrenia. The reason is that wheat inhibits the production of feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin. And in case you didn’t know ,“the greatest concentration of serotonin, which is involved in mood control, depression, and aggression, is found in your intestines, not your brain!”
3) Processed foods, which are super mood busters because, aside from sugar and gluten, they may also contain synthetic trans fats, artificial colors, monosodium glutamate (MSG), artificial sweeteners, and other synthetic ingredients that make up a recipe for major depression.
Excuse me while I finish my chocolate bar!