.Your body/mind needs the appropriate and best-quality fuel to run at optimum performance levels. A poor diet destroys more than our physical health – our mental health and wellbeing may be totally undermined. Most of the symptoms of nutrient deficiency show up first in the brain and central nervous system. Your moods, memory, and ability to concentrate and make decisions are all affected by what you eat and drink.
You can also help control and cope with the symptoms of stress by regularly eating a varied, balanced, and nourishing diet. In fact, this can do more than de-stress; it can improve your memory and overall mental performance, enhancing your mind and improving your behavior and moods.
When you are under prolonged stress, your immune system can become depressed along with your mood. You are more prone to digestive problems because the autonomic nervous system, which governs stomach action, is stimulated by anxiety. This triggers the secretion of excess stomach acid juices, which can eat away at the stomach’s coating and, over time, lead to inflammation and ulcers.
Stress also doubles your risk of catching a cold and other viral infections. It triggers all sorts of other health problems, from asthma and eczema to high blood pressure, heart disease, and even possible cancer. You can counteract many of the unhealthy effects of excessive stress by choosing nutritious meals and snacks to calm your nerves and increase your vitality.
It is not only what you eat, but also how you eat that matters when looking at your diet and how to reduce stress levels. Eating little and often is better than having large meals that may overtax an already stressed system, or large spaces between meals, when your blood sugar levels can fall dramatically. Avoid skipping meals, even if you fell; you are too stressed and/or overworked to eat; take time for at least a piece of fruit and a yogurt. A nutritious diet is the best defense against the destructive effects of stress in a healthy body. Although it is generally considered good advice to avoid eating when you are very angry or rushing around in a stressed state, it is obviously not practical or healthy to diet or eat irregularly when you are under prolonged stress or pressure. During these times, it is especially important to stop what you are doing and allow yourself to relax before eating. Eating wholesome foods that are easy on the digestive system will help you cope with stressful situations while maintaining your health.
Foods rich in the B vitamins, vital to the brain and nervous system’s wellbeing:
Milk and other dairy foods like eggs, chicken, beef, liver, brewer’s yeast, wheatgerm, whole grains, dark green leafy, peas, hazelnuts and white fish.
Here are some guidelines for stress-free eating habits:
- Give yourself time off to eat. Acknowledge the importance of nurturing your body and mind by allowing enough time to enjoy each meal.
- Take time to eat, and put some thought into what you eat and the environment in which you eat.
- Don’t eat if you are very anxious or angry; wait for the moment to pass.
- Don’t eat your food quickly or eat on the run.
- Eat breakfast. Eat stressful times it is important to keep your blood sugar level steady to sustain your mental as well as physical energy. Breakfast is an essential high-carbohydrate meal that will set you up for the day and keep you going for hours. If you starve yourself in the morning, it can play havoc with your blood sugar levels as the day progresses.
- Chew food slowly and well – the mouth is where digestion begins. Good chewing and saliva production help break down and process the food you eat.
- Choose fresh food, preferably home-cooked.
- Eat plenty of whole unprocessed foods, like oats, barley, rice, whole-grain breads and cereals, fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, dried beans, and peas.
- Eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Some experts recommend at least five servings a day.
- Don’t eat too many high-sugar or fatty manufactured snacks. They have practically no nutritional value and can alter your moods and clog your digestive system.
- Don’t add salt to your food. It can stimulate a state of high blood pressure.
- Replace unhealthy salty or sugary snacks, like potato chips, candy, cookies, and cakes, with healthy snacks, such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds or trail mixes. Mixed seeds provide concentrated nourishment, and are packed with B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, zinc, and protein. They are ideal for countering irritability, depression, and lack of energy. This healthy snack contains important nutrients to help maintain you under pressure. Bananas are another delicious, nutritious, and filling snack. Whole and nourishing, they are packed with minerals.
The following are considered excellent for protecting you against the ravages of stress: apples, apricots, asparagus, avocado, bananas, barley, beet, bell pepper, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, figs, grapes, kiwifruit, lettuce, oats, oranges, peaches, raspberries, spinach, strawberries, watercress.
