Best Foods For Anxiety And Stress

For people suffering any kinds of stress and feelings of anxiety, eating the right foods is one of the most practical things you can do to combat these feelings, and studies have shown that there are certain foods that can reduce this. As important as it is to know what foods do reduce stress and anxiety, the same importance should be placed on knowing which foods not to eat. Food which has been fried, high saturated fat foods and high sugar products are all known to contribute to increased anxiety. Avoiding these types will give a good foundation upon which to work, and some of the following foods are known for their stress reducing properties:

• Dark chocolate in moderation can help to lift a person’s mood, as it helps to lower levels of cortisol in the brain, which is a stress hormone associated with feelings of anxiety.
• Blueberries are rich in vitamins, and a variety of antioxidants, which are believed to be very beneficial to the reduction of stress and anxiety feelings.
• Almonds contain healthy fats, and importantly are an excellent source of zinc, which is important in helping to create a balanced mood.
• Acai berries have a similar antioxidant make up as blueberries, and this combined with phytonutrients make it great for reducing stress and anxiety.

Other Foods To Reduce Stress

Another two great foods to help combat feelings of anxiety are whole grain foods, and seaweed. For those who can tolerate gluten in their diet, foods such as wholegrain cereal, bread and pasta are great for helping with stress. Studies indicate that wholegrain is rich in magnesium – which a deficiency of can lead to feelings of stress - and tryptophan, which is used by the brain to help produce serotonin, a calming neurotransmitter. This along with the fact that whole-grains reduce hunger and give the body energy makes eating these as a part of your diet essential. For those who can’t tolerate gluten, try adding more seaweed to your diet. Sharing many of the same benefits as whole grain (seaweed is very rich in tryptophan as well as magnesium) can contribute to a more stable mood, and a reduction in the ups and downs associated with stress. And of course, there are a great number of pages on the internet nowadays with delicious recipes using seaweed.

What Foods To Avoid

It’s all too easy to simply reach for the fattening and sugary snacks when we are experiencing stressful situations during our lives. Moments of stress are temporarily relieved by a short term high off an unhealthy snack, but the body pays the price of this behaviour. Starved of the wide and healthy variety of foods it should be getting, it instead had to try to work off all of the sugar and fat put in, which leads to more feelings of stress and increased anxiety levels. When trying to improve and balance your moods, try avoiding:

• Frying foods. Grill instead, allowing the fat to drip out and off, rather than soaking it up.
• Sugary and high saturated content foods are guilty of providing that short term high and subsequent fall in mood, with the ups and downs contributing to increased stress. Unrefined sugars in excess can contribute to an imbalance of the blood sugar levels, which can also affect mood.
• Alcohol is a depressant, and can serious affect mood, so reducing your intake to a bare minimum will provide short term, noticeable results.
• Coffee. High in caffeine, many people find drinking any coffee at all will affect their feelings of anxiety as the caffeine itself is a stimulant. Others find that up to two cups a day does no noticeable harm, it is a case of knowing what works for you in this case.

Helping to Control Anxiety With Foods

Removing some of the unhealthier aspects of your diet, and replacing them with other healthier ones is to simply increase the amount of nutrients and vitamins you consume, and as much of a variety as possible, and use all these beneficial substances to allow your body to produce the wide variety of chemicals and fluids it needs to in order to operate properly. Once you start to do this, you will notice a palpable difference in your levels of stress and anxiety. With a much more solid foundation to work from, your body can produce a balanced and clear mind, enabling us to be free from the ups and downs of moods associated with stress, and in a position to handle stressful situations with a constant frame of mind. Understanding which foods you should eat and which to avoid should be done as a trial and error, and making these changes long term to your lifestyle, will see long term results against levels of stress and anxiety. Some people have been known to supplement with a variety of vitamins, including 5htp, which may help to control anxiety and stress levels. You can find a 5htp supplement at http://www.365vitamins.co.uk/mind/natural-anti-depressent-5-htp