6 Anti-Stress Foods
Stress is a physiological response that happens in the body in response to a stressor. Normally we associate stress with a hard job, difficult family problems, busy schedules, or hard exams, but we can become stressed due to imbalances in the body not necessarily caused by those external factors. Nutrient imbalances, blood sugar increases, and low hormone levels can all lead to stress. It is important to understand that stress is not always just a product of a stressful lifestyle and that sometimes the stress you feel is an indicator something is imbalanced internally. When these imbalances occur our cortisol production is increased from the adrenal glands, which sets off a cascade of negative effects in our body. Luckily there are anti-stress foods that can ease the cortisol imbalances.
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1. CITRUS FRUITS
Citrus fruits like oranges, lemon, lime, and grapefruit all contain Vitamin C making them anti-stress foods. Vitamin C is very potent in the citrus family and is known for its antioxidant effects. Stress can be acute and internal due to too many free radicals, which are highly reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the body that cause inflammation. Antioxidants fight these ROS in the body which helps to decrease stress levels. One study found vitamin C to be important in the mitigation of stress and anxiety markers by decreasing heart rate and blood pressure.
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2. PUMPKIN SEEDS
Pumpkin seeds are another one of the anti-stress foods because they are so high in magnesium. Across the nation, about 68% of Americans are found to consume less than the recommended daily intake of magnesium, many of these cases go unrecognized in clinical medicine because levels are rarely evaluated. Magnesium plays a crucial role in the production of your hormones and can help to balance the stress response. Magnesium is a mineral responsible for over 300 metabolic reactions within the body. In addition, you can think of magnesium as our calming and relaxing mineral. It helps to loosen tight muscles, maintain the health of our muscle tissue, including the heart – the most important muscle, prevent migraine headaches, balance blood sugar, and ease the stress response. The effect on stress is due to our brain’s sensitivity to magnesium, specifically the limbic–hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenocortical axis which controls emotions, and our nervous system. Magnesium can also reduce the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone from the pituitary gland in the brain, and this hormone controls the production of cortisol in your adrenal glands. By consuming magnesium you decrease the internal stress response.
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3. GRASS-FED BEEF
Grass-fed beef is one of the anti-stress foods because it is high in vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is another one of the most common deficiencies in America with about 50% of the population being deficient. B12 has many functions in numerous metabolic reactions in the body. A study found that B12 deficient mice had increased anxiety and learning deficits compared to the control group. This is due to a mechanism in B12 where it influences the clearance of homocysteine in the blood. Homocysteine is an amino acid produced when proteins are broken down, but at elevated levels, it is called hyperhomocysteinemia which is damaging. These high levels are not good for the body because they can degrade the arterial lining.
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4. SALMON
Salmon is another one of the anti-stress foods because it is high in vitamin D. For those who do not live in sunny climates, vitamin D deficiency is more common because the most bioavailable source of vitamin D is through the sunlight. Vitamin D aids in reducing stress because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It also has neurotrophic factors which are small proteins that aid in the brain functioning by regulating neurons. This connection is made because the part of the brain called the hypothalamus among others were found to have high levels of vitamin D receptors, which are areas where vitamin D is supposed to be supplied and activated. Studies have found that high levels of anxiety and stress were associated with lower vitamin D levels.
5. BRAZIL NUTS
Brazil nuts are high in selenium making them one of the anti-stress foods. Selenium is a mineral that has really vital antioxidant effects similar to vitamin C. Selenium is also very efficient at balancing reproductive hormones. When estrogen and progesterone are not in their respective healthy ranges, this can create mood swings, fatigue and lead to increased stress levels. Selenium can detoxify excess estrogen that recirculates in the body which it should be excreted.
6 LEAN PROTEIN
Lean protein like chicken, fish, and tofu do not contain a lot of fat and are anti-stress foods. In the body, protein gets broken down into amino acids which are the building blocks for our tissues, hormones, and neurotransmitters. Serotonin, one of the feel-good neurotransmitters is produced by the essential amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan gets converted into 5-HTP which then results in serotonin production. After just a one week trial, a study found that participants who consumed a tryptophan source of protein in addition to a carbohydrate source had the most benefit in reducing stress symptoms.
Phenylalanine is an amino acid that aids in the production of endorphins. Endorphins are usually the neurotransmitters we associate with a ‘runners high’. These endorphins help us feel relaxed and happy which is one of the reasons exercise is shown to be beneficial for stress, but phenylalanine is an amino acid that can play a similar role in producing endorphins.
Tyrosine is another amino acid that is a nutrient for stress. This is because tyrosine is a precursor to many of the neurotransmitters in the brain like dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. All of these neurotransmitters aid in alleviating stress.
Finally, L-theanine is another amino acid that is one of the nutrients for stress. In a 4 week trial, the group administered L-Theanine had significantly reduced stress symptoms than the control. This is due to the psychoactive effects of L-Theanine because it can act as an agonist for the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, meaning that it can inhibit the molecules that want to bind to the receptor. One of these molecules is glutamate. Glutamate is a powerful neurotransmitter that helps to send signals from one nerve cell to another. When glutamate is too high then you can experience stress because of the overstimulation of nerve cell signals.
