Stress? Beat it with food!
The best stress killers on your plate
"I'm on everyone's lips. Not a day goes by without me stopping by. You run away from me but I always manage to catch you. I thrive on fear. I keep you awake, I disturb your digestion, I make you gain weight, I can even send you to the emergency room. Yes, I'm the cause of many ills. I'm very good at making your life miserable. And yet, without me, you wouldn't be here. I protect you in spite of yourself. Who am I? Take a guess! That's right... stress! And unless you live like a Tibetan monk, there's no escaping me." Discover the secrets of the 'anti-stress' diet, which is guaranteed to keep stress at bay. Explore some essentials to stock up on straight away.
Discover the secrets of the 'anti-stress' diet, which is guaranteed to keep stress at bay. Explore some essentials to stock up on straight away.
An enemy that does us good
Let's travel back in time to the days of prehistoric man. To catch food, but also to escape highly dangerous situations, nature had everything planned out for prehistoric man. The physiological processes that had meticulously been put in place transformed prehistoric man into a superhero within just a few seconds. As such, he was ready to flee or fight his enemies.
But how exactly? At the sight of danger, the body releases adrenaline, the 'warrior hormone', to convert all our energy into action. All the senses are awakened. Our heart rate speeds up and so does our breathing, which is essential to get glucose and oxygen to the muscles and brain.
Then cortisol is released, which raises blood sugar levels. The result? An instant energy boost! No time to hesitate... The body immediately jumps into action. Just imagine prehistoric man spraining his ankle while running away from a mammoth! Oh dear... That must have hurt! However, cortisol has an anti-inflammatory and protective effect. Prehistoric man would have cried in pain, for sure, but not straight away!
His physical abilities would have increased tenfold, his muscular strength multiplied, enabling him to save himself or catch his prey. At the same time, such feats were accompanied by a clear decrease in intellectual capacity. In such a stressful situation, for a limited period of time, our superhero became a bit of an idiot, as cognitive abilities were not a must at that moment.
In a nutshell, in the short term, acute stress is beneficial because it mobilises all resources for the fight or flight response. This makes stress an essential tool for survival.
Okay, but what does stress do to us today?
We are the proud heirs of this remarkable system, but nowadays it is being misused. Acute stress, which is momentary and essential to our survival, differs from chronic stress, which persists insidiously because the mechanisms are exactly the same, exhausting both the body and the mind. Adrenaline and cortisol are released at every turn, even when our lives are not at stake. And this is exactly where the problem lies. The overuse of these hormones can lead to exhaustion, burn-out and a variety of illnesses.
Stress is often accompanied by weight gain because the glucose released for the fight or flight response is not used when you're stressed behind the wheel of your car or behind your screen, without moving a finger.
Stress makes you eat more, and generally you don't crave radishes and cucumbers. You want sugar to calm you down... But it only works for a bit, of course. So, you crave more and more... you can see how this quickly turns into a very vicious circle.
Thankfully, some foods can help you beat stress. Which ones, you ask? Read on!
The food you eat has an impact on whether or not you can keep stress at bay. If you succumb to the call of junk food, you'll have a much harder time dealing with this invasive enemy. On the other hand, by choosing a diet rich in magnesium, omega-3 and tryptophan, you will get all the nutrients you need to restore the balance in your body.
By secreting adrenaline, you deplete your stock of magnesium. So the more you stress, the more you consume. The lower your levels of magnesium, the more you will get stressed. Welcome to a new vicious circle. It is therefore essential to take in magnesium through your diet (bananas, cocoa, nuts, wholegrain cereals, green leafy vegetables, legumes, etc.).
Serotonin, the neurotransmitter of serenity and relaxation, is damaged in times of stress. To produce it, you need tryptophan (part of a protein called an amino acid) and a well-functioning intestine. In fact, serotonin is produced in large quantities in our colon. Your diet plays an essential role: tryptophan is found in high-quality dairy products, meat, eggs, bananas, legumes. To metabolise it properly, certain B vitamins are essential: cereals, fruit, vegetables, etc.
Finally, the precious omega-3s are our friends for life. They are essential in managing stress because they ensure the fluidity of cell membranes, which, in turn, promotes better communication between them. You can find omega-3s in fatty fish (sardines, mackerel, anchovies, salmon, fresh tuna, etc.) and in vegetable oils such as rapeseed, linseed, camelina, etc., but also in oilseeds. Plant-based omega-3s should be consumed every day, while animal-based omega-3s should be consumed 2 to 3 times a week.
Consistently take care of your diet, but also of your heart. Breathe in and out, deeply and calmly, for a few minutes, at least 3 times a day, preferably before meals. This will allow you to reduce your stress hormones, which also disturb your digestion. No moderation needed here!
Exercise, for example walking, yoga or swimming, helps you let off steam and produce other soothing hormones.
In a nutshell, to keep your spirits up, focus on what makes you feel good, on beneficial nutrients, and on effective tools to reduce stress, like exercise and meditation... Let's set to work!
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