Foods that Help Fight Stress

We often hear, “You are what you eat”. Food is an important and often overlooked piece of the puzzle to ensure our wellbeing, and more precisely to manage stress, anxiety, depression, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Does this mean that there is a direct correlation between the food we choose to eat and our mood? What certain foods could help us fight stress?

First things first, eliminating inflammatory ingredients like gluten, dairy and sugar can be a great place to start, but then you also need to get adequate stress-busting nutrients.

Stress increases our cortisol level which can cause food cravings. A vicious circle is established then because food cravings increase the cortisol level even more and push us to always consume more unhealthy food.

Here are the best foods to help manage cortisol, overall mood, and help our body to manage the effects of stress. Try to incorporate them into the healthy recipes you have at home and benefit from them.
Salmon
Excellent source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Well known to lower the risk of depression among other disorders like cardiovascular disease and cancer. Omega-3s can lower the anxiety hormones cortisol and adrenaline to help boost the feel-good hormone serotonin.

Citrus
When we are stressed, our body burns vitamin C. Eating citrus fruits helps replenish with vitamin C. It also helps lower cortisol levels. You can try incorporating some vegetables rich in vitamin C like bell peppers and cauliflower.

Berries
Excellent source of antioxidants to help repair stress-related damage. Also high in vitamin C.

Grass-fed steak
When sourced from healthy and grass-fed animals, red meat can be health-promoting. Grass-fed cows have a rich nutrient profile. They have more antioxidants like vitamins C and E and are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Cashews
Good source of zinc. Zinc is an essential mineral that your body doesn’t store so you should consume some every day. Low levels of zinc have been tied to anxiety disorders. Other nuts like walnuts and almonds are a good source of zinc too.

Cacao
Dark chocolate is good for your mood. Raw cacao powder is full of antioxidants and calming magnesium that are well known to reduce the effects of stress and many people are deficient in.
Stress weakens your immune system and garlic can be a powerful antidote. It is packed with antioxidants and the compound allicin which can help fight everything from the common cold to cancer

Garlic
Stress weakens your immune system and garlic can be a powerful antidote. It is packed with antioxidants and the compound allicin which can help fight everything from the common cold to cancer.

Oats
When you are stressed, food cravings happen. To quell those stressed-out cravings for carbs, oats are a healthy solution. They help you produce the feel-good hormone serotonin. They are also rich in fiber to help keep you full and blood sugar balanced.

Eggs
Pasture-raised eggs are high in folate, a B vitamin that helps reduce depression, anxiety, and panic.

Beverage
You can also switch from coffee to green tea to reduce stress and anxiety. Make sure you sleep enough and have some good sleep. It may start by less alcohol, less screening before sleeping, good hydration during the day. Meditate regularly. Go outside and do some exercise.
You may also try to take a vitamin D supplement during the winter months. Also, keep your gut happy through probiotic foods and supplements.

To ensure you get a well-balanced diet, enlist the help of nutrition experts. At Eatology, we feature healthy recipes that were all created to fulfill special health needs. We also deliver meal plans in Hong Kong that are specific to our client's requirements. Needless to say, our nutritionist-approved foods have all been rigorously studied and tested. Contact us for inquiries.

For more details, visit: www.eatologyasia.com

Eatology Asia is located at 3/F Yiuga Factory, 62 Victoria Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong

Eatology provides a meal plan delivery service in Hong Kong to help you make healthy food choices. All our meals are designed, tested, and approved by our registered dieticians and nutritionists to ensure every meal you receive is tasty and good for your body. We also offer healthy meal subscriptions to those with special dietary requirements. Premium, quality ingredients make up our meals, which help form nutritiously delicious recipes to create dietician-designed or tailor-made meals and deliver them straight to your home or office.

This release was published on openPR.