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Eating Under Stress: A List Of Foods

An overly active life rhythm and daily challenges drive us into a state of chronic stress. However, if left unchecked, it can lead to depression and health problems.

Many people eat sweets to cover up stress and gain weight. But how can you eat stress in the right way, without harming your figure and with benefits for your body?

What is stress?

Stress is a reaction of the body in response to a very strong external influence that exceeds the norm, as well as the corresponding reaction of the nervous system.

Physiological stress, short-term and not very strong, helps the body to cheer up, while chronic stress exhausts and wears out the body, beginning to interfere with its normal functioning.

As a result, heart and vascular diseases, nervous diseases, and digestive and metabolic problems are formed.

What the body needs under stress

If you start fighting stress in time, you can avoid most negative phenomena and the development of diseases.

Nutrition as a source of essential nutrients (especially proteins), mineral salts, trace elements, and vitamins of all groups plays an important role in the fight against stress.

Under stress, the amount of elements required by the body increases, which means that nutrition should be special. The body most often hints to you what it lacks at the moment – there is a desire to eat salty, meat, sometimes even nibble on crayons.

Eating rules for stress

The body has special anti-stress substances that protect the body from the damaging effects of free radicals, quickly repair cell damage and help form new ones.

These substances include vitamin E (tocopherol) and ascorbic acid. In addition to them, pantothenic acid, choline, and riboflavin, which are B vitamins, are considered anti-stress agents.

One of the components of a comprehensive attack on stress can be a diet aimed at replenishing the body with those substances that are intensively “eaten” by stress hormones.

  • Vitamin A – green leafy vegetables, carrots, apricots, pumpkin.
  • Vitamin C – all vegetables and fruits, especially citrus fruits, black currants, kiwi, broccoli, white cabbage, and rose hips.
  • B vitamins – all cereals, yogurt, liver, pumpkin, avocado, bran bread, lean meat and fish, nuts, brewer’s yeast.
  • Vitamin E – vegetable oils.
  • Magnesium – green vegetables and herbs, grapefruits, figs, carrots, tomatoes, nuts, buckwheat, oatmeal, peas.
  • Calcium – milk and dairy products.
  • Zinc – lean meat, seafood, eggs, yogurt, cheese, nuts.
  • Choline – egg yolk, beef liver, sprouted wheat grains.
  • Glucose – bread with bran, sweet fruits, and honey.

Also, under stress, the body needs adaptogens – substances that increase the ability of adaptive systems. These include herbal remedies – today, many herbal teas are made from plants containing adaptogens, such as ginseng, lemongrass, licorice, echinacea, green tea, and many others. Their use is also effective for nervous exhaustion that occurs as a result of intense mental activity.

When stressed, you need to consume enough protein and calcium

Under stress, the body loses a lot of protein, as protein is used to activate the immune system. Protein begins to come from other organs.

As a result, these organs suffer.

Also, the stress response requires a lot of calcium, it begins to be washed out of the bones, and the bones become more fragile. Teeth, hair, and nails also suffer.

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Written by Bella Adams

I'm a professionally-trained, executive chef with over ten years in Restaurant Culinary and hospitality management. Experienced in specialized diets, including Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw foods, whole food, plant-based, allergy-friendly, farm-to-table, and more. Outside of the kitchen, I write about lifestyle factors that impact well-being.

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