Best Foods to Fight Off Stress | Super Foods for Stress Relief
What better way to relieve stress than to indulge in foods and ingredients that can potentially bring about a positive shift in mood. One of the most beneficial ways to reduce stress and nourish the soul is by consuming stress-busting foods. Food is our most natural form of medicine and a key ingredient in reducing our overall levels of stress and anxiety.
A healthy diet builds a solid, more enduring foundation for your body by reducing oxidation and inflammation and by helping to reduce weight gain. Building a healthy food prep habit into your daily or weekly routine can greatly improve your overall diet, and eventually, lead to reduced stress levels.
Encourage your clients to consume more of these nutrients to boost their mood, reduce stress, and fuel the body and mind.
How Stress Can Affect Your Waistline
Problems also occur when your body’s stress response goes on for too long, becoming chronic. With chronic stress, your fight-or-flight responses result in suppressed immunity, digestive problems, sleep disorders and increased production and release of stress hormones like Cortisol.
Cortisol is known as the primary “stress hormone” and is secreted in response to all forms of stress. Stress triggers your “fight or flight” response causing your adrenal glands to secrete large quantities of adrenal cortical hormones. These hormones mobilize the body’s energy supplies and direct all of the body’s resources toward survival.
This response may be extremely beneficial during a life-threatening situation, but is not as well suited for today’s modern world since most stressful situations do not require us to fight or run away. Although there is no physical activity required in response to the perceived “threat,” (stress) cortisol signals the body to refuel as though there were.
This signal to refuel increases appetite and increases your body’s fat storage to cope with the perceived emergency and may also increase your risk of emotional eating. All of these factors lead to weight gain in the chronically stressed.
Stress-Reducing Food
As we get busy and stressed, we tend to make poor nutritional choices that can actually increase our stress levels and cause other problems. Get smart about stress-eating. Skip the chips and fill up on these potentially anxiety-reducing foods.
Dark Chocolate
Yes, you heard that right. Chocolate can be good for you! The key is choosing the dark version, which is strongly linked to improving mood when consumed in moderation. Dark chocolate is jammed with polyphenols and flavanols – both of which can improve mood and lower blood pressure.
Avocado
Avocados are not only super high in MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids), they are full of lutein, beta-carotene, vitamin E and folate. You can consider avocados a powerhouse of nutrient density.
Berries
Besides being nature’s candy, berries are full of antioxidants and vitamins to help combat free radical damage. Vitamin C has been shown to help lower blood pressure and cortisol (a stress hormone).
Cashews
These golden nuggets pack a punch with protein and healthy fats. They also contain zinc, which in low levels has been linked to depression and anxiety.
Salmon
Stress amps up certain hormones as part of our fight or flight nervous system response. As a result, inflammation can set it. Salmon contains a high amount of omega-3 fatty acids which are anti-inflammatory by nature.
Chamomile Tea
Chamomile has long been celebrated as a calming plant. Steep some chamomile tea before bed and enjoy the relaxing effects of this seemingly magical substance.
Yogurt
More research continues to be published related to stomach and gut-health. Stress impacts every system in our body and most notably, the stomach. Incorporating a serving of yogurt each day may help support the gut bacteria balance and combat stress at the same time.
Stress Management and Nutrition Coaching Courses
Our Stress Management coaching program is designed for life coaches, as well as fitness and wellness professionals who want to expand his or her knowledge in the lucrative and expanding field.
You can become a Certified Personal Fitness Chef and expand your current personal chef business, or add a new profit center for your fitness or wellness business. Many personal chefs cook and coach people in groups to help more people and earn more money per hour. Some chefs provide weekly meal prep service for health-minded customers and athletes.
If you want to help clients with food, diet, weight management and improving the results of their fitness routines, the Fitness Nutrition Coach course is for you. You will learn about optimal nutrition, including proven techniques for increasing energy, optimal health and decreased dependence on medications. Instantly increase your job and career opportunities with this popular professional credential.