Nutrition for stress
STRESS – What are you resisting???
I’m sure you have all heard about the negative effects stress can have on your health, via the immune system, so I won’t bombard you with information. However, just to gain some perspective, here are some facts and figures that may help with your sense of isolation with this issue and see the importance of the community uniting in the approach to relieving stress in their lives.
- Stress keeps more than 40% of adults awake at night. 2014.
- Similar to findings in 2013, almost two in three Australians reported that current stress was having at least some impact on their mental health with almost one in five reporting that current stress was having a strong to very strong impact on mental health.
- Working Australians reported significantly lower levels of job satisfaction than findings reported in 2012 and 2011, and significantly lower levels of work-life balance than in 2011.
It’s recommended that you go to bed at the same time each night, don’t have caffeine past lunch time, and don’t have stimulation in your room, such as a TV and take a daily walk.
The next recommendation is easier said than done, but is put forth as the most effective strategy for minimizing stress and recapturing satisfaction in your daily life by the most successful individuals around the world; The strategy is to find work or daily activities that you would want to do regardless of whether you’re getting paid or not, and use your level of enthusiasm as a gauge as to whether you’re on the right path or not.
Food For Thought: YOU ARE NOT A DROP IN THE OCEAN, BUT THE OCEAN IN A DROP!
Foods to add to your diet
Stress utilities B vitamins and minerals, such as Potassium and Magnesium; plus others. Therefore, a bowl of raw mixed nuts goes a long way to replenish those crucial nutrients that regulate neurotransmitter and nervous system function.
Include red bell peppers (capsicum) in your daily diet as they almost double the vitamin C quantity of oranges. The relevance here is that Vitamin C has shown to help recovery from a cortisol (stress hormone) surge.
2 serves of wild salmon a week will suffice ample omega 3 fatty acid delivery. This is relevant as a study showed individuals who took omega 3 supplements containing EPA and DHA for 12 weeks reduced their anxiety by 20%.
Spinach, brown rice and beans are a rich source of magnesium. This mineral gets flushed out of the body when you stress, so replenishment is essential. Magnesium blocks calcium channels in the muscle cells so there can be a capacity to relax.
Recipe:
The Anti Stress Juice!
1 beetroot (medium)
2 radish
3 broccoli heads and stalks
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
1/2 potato (medium)