You should take every care for keeping stress away from your daily life. High work pressure coupled with social and family responsibilities are often the primary reasons of high stress.
The main problem with being stressed out is that, it disturbs the natural hormonal balance of the body, increases stress on the heart and the nervous system, killing you slowly from inside.
In fact, studies suggest that stress can reduce your efficiency at work and can trigger severe relationship issues as well. So, fighting stress is essential.
While Yoga and exercising are considered as the best ways to relieve stress, eating some particular foods can also be highly beneficial in this regard.
Evidences of the relationship between stress and eating have been observed long before. Stress is often linked with over eating and junk eating which leads to weight gain and other health problems adding up to more stress.
However, this relationship between stress and food can be used intelligently, to control stress. There are foods that can reduce stress and relax your nerves.
So, if the things are getting on your nerves pretty quickly nowadays, you should start eating more of these foods to keep your stress in check.
Green leafy vegetables
It is not without any reason that your mom always used to force you to eat those green leafy vegetables that you never liked.
According to studies it has been established that young people who eat more vegetables and fruits enjoy a happier and calmer mood which can be the best way to fight stress.
The folate present in deep green leafy vegetable like spinach and asparagus can be highly effective in controlling stress particularly due to their serotonin and dopamine contents. These two neurotransmitters work as mood-regulators and can also lower the risk of depression.
Foods that are made with whole grains can be ideal to control stress. If you are not intolerant to gluten simply include more whole grain foods like oats, pasta and whole grain breads in your daily diet.
Whole grains are high in magnesium and tryptophan both of which are able to calm the nerves and control anxiety and stress. The carbohydrate of the whole grain foods stimulate serotonin production in the brain which helps in reducing stress.
Tryptophan is converted to serotonin in the body and serotonin can de-stress your mind and body.
Turkey breast is rich in tryptophan content and hence if you are a non-vegetarian, replacing the chicken or mutton in your platter with turkey breast will obviously help in dealing with stress.
All the seaweeds are rich in different nutrients and the high magnesium content of seaweeds is often related to their ability to calm the nerves.
Seaweed like kelp also contains tryptophan and can be a good source of serotonin for the body. So, if you prefer veggies more, seaweeds can be the super food for you to fight stress.
Fishes like Salmon and Tuna are rich sources of Omega 3 fatty acids that are known for nourishing the nerves and de stressing the body.
Omega 3 fatty acids have been found to control the cortisol level in the body during stressful situation helping you to stay calm even when the things might not be going right. According to another research, omega 3 supplements were able to reduce anxiety amongst students by 20%.
Oysters are high in Zinc content which plays a vital role in maintaining nerve health. Zinc boosts the nervous system and shields it from harmful effects of stress. Zinc can be highly helpful to keep your nerves more in your control.
Shrimps contain Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin D and B12 in satisfactory amounts. All these ingredients can be highly effective in fighting stress and also to reduce the effect of stress on your body. So, if you are not allergic to shrimps, dig into a delicious dish of shrimps when you are feeling stressed.
Broccoli does not come in the category of leafy vegetables but it is one of the healthiest green vegetables around.
Including broccoli in your daily diet in sufficient quantity can not only fight a number of other health problems but can also reduce stress. Broccoli is rich in folate and Riboflavin both of which are known for their effective stress relieving ability.
Yogurt can work as an effective stress buster. The natural probiotics present in yogurt controls the activity at some parts of the brain which are mostly related with stress.
Yogurt also ensures a better gastrointestinal health which can promote an overall good mood helping you to fight stress in your life.
Milk can be highly effective in de-stressing the body and the mind. The high calcium content of milk has been found to lessen the mood swings and it reduces the irritability helping you to gain better composure.
Almonds are not only high in Vitamin E they also contain a good dose of Vitamin B2, Magnesium and Zinc.
All these elements play important role in the production of the feel-good hormone serotonin in the body which can bust stress and control mood swings effectively.
The zinc present in almonds help in reducing the impact of stress on the nerves and body promoting a healthier neurovascular system.
Studies have shown that consumption of two servings of pistachios a day can lower the vascular constriction that occurs during stress.
It means that the arteries of your heart are more dilated which ensures reduced load on the heart even in case of stress. So, eating more pistachios can give your body better shielding from stress and its side effects.
Less amount of zinc in the body has been linked with more stress and cashews being a good source of zinc can actually help in keeping stress away. It reduces the susceptibility of the body from mental and psychological stress, promoting a better mood and health.
Walnuts can work to keep away stress particularly because of its high Omega-3-fatty acid content which helps in nourishing the brain cells and the nervous system. It also helps in keeping stress in check.
Avocados are high in a number of nutrients like Vitamin E, Folate, lutein, and beta carotene, which helps in regulating the mood by helping in the production of serotonin.
This fruit also contains glutathione, which stops the absorption of bad fats in the intestine and it has also been found to be able to regulate the blood sugar levels.
The fruit also offers satiation for longer hours and can be effective to keep your mood steady, helping you to fight stress.
Along with a bunch of other nutrients bananas also contain sufficient amount of potassium which helps in keeping the blood pressure in check thus controlling stress and reducing the effect of stress on the body.
Blueberries are the other fruits that might be effective to keep you away from stress. Blueberries are high in vitamin C that ensures a healthy nervous and immunity system and can be effective to fight stress.
The high magnesium content of apricots makes them an ideal stress busting food. Magnesium is known for being a natural muscle and nerve relaxant and thus can help in relieving stress.
In addition to that apricots are also high in Vitamin C which again helps in enhancing mood and keeping stress at bay.
Oranges are a rich source of Vitamin C that ensures a healthy nervous and immune system. Oranges can be effective to lower cortisol levels in the body helping the blood pressure to return to normal which naturally reduces stress.
For converting tryptophan to serotonin in brain, vitamin C is required and hence supplying vitamin C to the body can be highly effective to release this feel good hormone and to bust stress. Kiwi is extremely rich in Vitamin C and just one Kiwi can fulfill the recommended daily vitamin C intake for any adult.
Feeling like biting a bar of dark chocolate when you are stressed out can be actually your body talking to you and not only your sweet tooth. Dark chocolate produces anandamide in brain and this neurotransmitter have the ability to block any type of pain or depression temporarily.
In addition to that, the other compounds of dark chocolate also helps in lingering the effect of this neurotransmitter working as an effective and instant stress buster.