Foods That Help You Fight Stress

Intense work pace and the exhaustion of city life leave us facing stress every day. Stress is a major cause of many conditions ranging from sleep disorders to muscle tension, increased stomach acid to high blood pressure. Moreover, it lowers our energy, leaving us feeling weak and exhausted. Prof. Dr. İsmet Tamer, who emphasizes that the foods we eat play a major role in coping with stress, shared energy-boosting and stress-reducing foods with us.

Magnesium Effective in Reducing Anxiety

Cortisol levels that rise during stress are regulated if you consume sufficient magnesium, your body calms down and relaxes. Magnesium is a mineral that enables you to relax and eliminates anxiety symptoms. When you do not consume enough magnesium, your serotonin levels drop, making it harder to withstand stress. You can be less affected by stress by consuming magnesium in abundance through eggs, spinach and leafy greens like chard, and legumes. Particularly healthy carbohydrates like legumes also help keep your energy levels balanced.

Consuming Turkey and Cocoa Increases Serotonin

Serotonin is a very important hormone. By consuming foods that trigger serotonin production, you can achieve comfort and tranquility, and feel better about yourself. Turkey meat leads the list of foods that trigger serotonin production. Other triggering foods are eggs, legumes, certain grains, bananas and cocoa. It is already known that cocoa has a mood-lifting effect.

Prefer Herbal Teas Instead of Coffee

When cocoa is mentioned, coffee comes to mind as well, but coffee and similar caffeinated beverages increase feelings of stress and anxiety in our body. This is because caffeine has a stimulating effect on the nervous system, raising heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. During stressful times, reducing caffeine as much as possible and instead frequently consuming herbal teas can create a relaxing and calming effect in your body.

Pay Attention to Carbohydrate Consumption

Refined sugar and processed foods are harmful substances both to our body in general and especially to our brain. Sugar and other refined carbohydrates cause a rapid rise and fall in blood sugar, leading to mood changes and difficulties in coping with stress.

Consume Omega-3 Rich Foods Three Times a Week

One of the best things you can do to manage anxiety and stress is to feed yourself with foods that will regulate your brain chemistry. Our brain needs healthy fats to function properly, especially omega-3 fatty acids. Foods rich in omega-3 include salmon, walnuts, avocados, flaxseeds and chia seeds.  

Antioxidants Protect Against Stress

Antioxidants protect the brain against many diseases. If you do not consume enough antioxidants, you harm the production of hormones that protect your brain from stress. If you consume abundant amounts of vitamin A-rich foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes and spinach; vitamin C-rich foods such as oranges and other citrus fruits, kiwi, red peppers and broccoli; vitamin E-rich foods such as almonds, avocados and sunflower seeds, you also support your body's fight against anxiety and stress.

Make Probiotics Part of Your Life to Increase Good Bacteria

Bacteria found in the intestines also play an important role in serotonin production, which is involved in stress. Making probiotic foods like yogurt and kefir, which support these bacteria, part of your life can help you cope with stress.