Your body/mind needs the appropriate and best-quality fuel to run at optimum performance levels. A poor diet destroys more than our physical health – our mental health and well-being may be totally undermined. The symptoms of deficiency of most nutrients usually show up first in the brain and central nervous system. Your moods, memory, ability to concentrate and make decisions, are all affected by what you eat and drink.
You can also help control and cope with the symptoms of stress by eating regularly a varied, balanced and nourishing diet. In fact, this can do more than de-stress; it can improve your memory and overall mental performance, enhancing your mental well-being, improving your behavior and moods.
Stress also doubles your risk of catching a cold and other viral infections, as well as triggering all sorts of other health problems, from asthma and eczema to high blood pressure, heart disease and even possibly cancer. You can counteract many of the unhealthy effects of excessive stress by choosing healthy meals and snacks to calm your nerves and increase your vitality.
It’s not only what you eat, but how you eat that matters when looking at your diet and how to reduce stress levels through developing balanced and nutritious eating habits. It is well known that it is better to eat little and often than to eat large meals that may overtax an already stressed system, with large spaces between meals, when your blood sugar levels can fall dramatically.
A nutritious diet is the best defense against the destructive effects of stress in a healthy body. Although it is generally considered good advice to avoid eating when you are very angry or rushing around in a stressed state, it is obviously not practical or healthy to diet or eat irregularly when you are under prolonged stress of pressure. During these times, it is especially important to stop what you are doing and allow yourself to relax before eating. Eating wholesome foods that are easy on the digestive system will help you cope with stressful situation while maintaining your health.
Guidelines for stress free eating habits:
The following are considered excellent for protecting you against stress:
Apples Apricots Asparagus Avocado Bananas Barley Beetroot Strawberries |
Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Celery Figs Grapes Kiwi fruit |
Lettuce Oats Oranges Peaches Peppers Raspberries Spinach |