I spoke about the negative effects of food in my last blog post, let’s talk about how to reduce stress naturally with the food you can get at your local grocery store.

We all know a chocolate bar tastes extra good when we’re feeling down

Cocoa powder contains something called flavonoids; researches indicate that flavonoids help reduce the production of stress hormones like cortisol. Cocoa powder also contains numerous active compounds and nutrients that stimulate production of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, this result in release of serotonin, dopamine and endorphines. These are the “happiness hormones”.

I’d like to add that it doesn’t have to be 99% dark chocolate, yes it has a higher level of cocoa content, but in the end if it doesn’t taste good, you’ll be far more happier if you just eat the chocolate bar with caramel, cookies or whichever is your favourite. It’s not the flavonoids that will magically make you happy, in the end it’s the balance of less stress hormone and more happiness hormone.

Little bit of Spanish lesson, but tea…especially those boring ones.

Chamomille, green and black tea contain a naturally occuring non-protein amino acid called L-Theanine that is known to reduces stress and anxiety levels. This promotes for relaxation and can help improve sleep quality. But, make sure the tea is caffeine free or else you won’t get much sleep. Caffeine is also a reason to higher level of stress and cortisol.

So if you’ve had a long day consider sitting down in the couch with a chocolate bar, large cup of tea and wrap yourself in a blanket. Put on a movie and just relax before you go to sleep.

Avocado

Avocados are rich in Vitamin B & Tryptophan; B vitamins are known to reducing stress levels and tryptophan is is an amino acid that our body converts to serotonin. The good fats in avocado promotes for a balanced and happy gut.

Banana

Bananas are much like avocados and contain Tryptophan + B vitamins like folate & vitamin B6; these are key to the production of serotonin. Bananas also contain potassium that assists in regulating hormones, cortisol is a hormone. Pair with some nuts and seeds for a stress-busting boost.

Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds are high in antioxidant Vitamin E & the mineral Zinc; two nutrients that that can help in immunity health. Stress cause you to get more prone to sickness which leaves for a bad cycle as we get stressed when we are sick — at least I do because I feel like I’m missing out on precious time. Again, Vitamin B can be found in nuts and seeds.

Kefir

Kefir is packed with probiotics; live microorganism that have health benefits to our guts. They improve and restore our gut balance. It’s not directly related to stress levels, but having a happy and balanced gut promotes for a better wellbeing. So much is rooted in our gut, that’s why we always say listen to your gut feeling.

Broccoli & spinach

Broccoli contain folic acid & Vitamin C; folic acid deficiency is linked to anxiety and depression. Vitamin C is known can help reduce cortisol levels, making broccoli a superfood — why do you think parents forced us to eat broccoli as kids, becuase it’s needed for a wellbeing!

Spinach and other leafy greens are also known to contain folate which helps our body produce dopamine, another happiness chemical in our brain.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon have been used medically for thousands years. Cinnamon is a superfood with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and antimicrobial properties. So pure magic with other words, no just kidding nothing is pure magic, but adding a bit of cinnamon to your oats or coffee might make your day slightly better in the end.

Eating a balanced diet is key to happiness

Please note that eating a full bar of dark chocolate isn’t going to magically make all your problems go away — it might feel good in the moment, but in the end eating a balanced diet is what will help you feel better. Eating a balanced diet means giving your body what it needs to function properly, there’s a lot of restrictive diets that will just throw off the balance and cause problems down the road. We function best when we get all nutrients through out the week.

We might have evolved since living in the caves, but we still function quite the same.

We need carbohytrates to fuel our bodies.
We need protein to build muscle.
We need fats to absorb other nutrients.

We need vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to stay happy and healthy.

Too much of one or two thing are not good — keep everything in moderation.

Just like dark chocolate seems like a superfood that can help you reduce cortisol levels just like that, doesn’t mean you should binge 10 packets every time someone is stressing you out. Dark chocolate also contains a small amount of caffeine, which in larger amounts may make anxiety worse — and the calories, it’s pretty calorie dense. I’m not saying calories are bad, but 100g dark chocolate is 575 calories and if you were to eat 5 packages that’s 2875 calories, that’s like a whole pizza. It’s not bad to eat one pizza, but if you add all calories up in the end of the day you might end up on a pretty high number that most likely will lead to unnecessary weight gain.

Weight gain can cause a lot of stress for some of us. So, lets stick to a balanced diet.

Eat more of:
Whole foods
Healthy fats
Fruits and vegetables
High quality protein
Water, tea and fruit infused water

Eat less of:
Processed food
Refined sugar
Artificially sweetened products