10 Stress-Reducing Foods You Need in Your Busy Life

Are you stressed? Could you use some stress-reducing foods? Do you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? You’re not alone. Many Americans run around like chickens with their heads cut off most days. Between work, family, running kids to their activities, chores around the house, grocery shopping, paying bills… the list goes on and on. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and find yourself burning the midnight oil and forgoing sleep to get things done.

The fact of the matter is that stress can truly be caused by anything. It can be the stress before an exam, stress at work, stress from exercise, or even stress from being stuck in traffic when you need to be somewhere important.

Your body does not have the capability to distinguish between the root causes of stress and where it actually comes from. Therefore, your body simply smashed the panic button — and we know how that feels. You may feel anxious, the feeling of being overwhelmed, and being extremely fatigued. These are common symptoms of stress.

With that being said, there are many ways you can reduce your stress levels and bring them back down under control when you feel like you are slowly losing it. Stress-reducing foods can be your biggest ally if used correctly. If you implement certain stress-reducing foods into your diet, it can help calm things down, and the results can be further enhanced if you focus on other ways to decrease stress, such as deep breathing and meditation.

Food can make stress levels go down or can cause them to skyrocket — it depends totally on what you are feeding your body when under heavy amounts of stress.

Before we get into stress-reducing foods, let’s understand what stress can do to our bodies.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor if you feel you suffer from chronic stress to find out what options you have.

Stress: Should You Be Stressed About It?

Our body is designed to go through stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, such as getting a job promotion or being given important responsibilities, even when we are confronted with a situation where we must act quickly to avoid mishaps or accidents.

Negative stress, on the other hand, can lead to:

Anxiety
Depression
Panic attacks
Sadness
Headaches
Elevated blood pressure
Upset stomach
Digestion issues
Chest pain
Sleeping disorders
Exhaustion
Muscle tension
Sexual performance issues
Weakened immune system

Hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released to raise alertness, and that can increase your heart rate, cause muscle tension, and elevate your pulse. Although this response can be useful in some circumstances, it has some adverse effects in others and can even become chronic.

That’s where stress-reducing foods can come into play to help you better deal with stress in a healthy way versus reaching for other means to cope that are unhealthy such as alcohol, drugs, and binge eating (emotional eating), which can lead to weight gain, obesity, and health issues.

10 Stress-Reducing Foods to Have in Your Diet

Eating healthy food can offer some excellent stress relief. Below, we will discuss some of the best stress-reducing foods that you can add to your diet TODAY to help you better manage your stress levels.

1. Nuts

Stress decreases our vitamin B stores, and munching on some nuts can help replenish them. Nuts are one of the best stress-reducing foods that you can snack on.

Vitamin B keeps our neurotransmitters optimized and functioning properly while also assisting us in handling all fight-or-flight responses.

Potassium in nuts is also vital, as potassium-packed nuts can lower blood pressure and decrease stress levels put on the heart.

2. Fatty Fish

Fatty fish, such as trout, herring, salmon, and sardines, are incredibly high in omega-3.

Omega-3 fatty acids have a strong link with cognitive function and mental health. Studies showed that consuming fatty fish can help reduce stress levels.

3. Eggs

Eggs are sometimes called nature’s multivitamin since they have an incredibly impressive nutrient profile. Whole eggs are full of vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, and minerals which have an excellent stress relief response.

This stress-reducing food includes the nutrient choline, which plays an important role in reducing stress and brain health.

4. Dark Chocolate

This one probably caught your attention. For all of the chocolate lovers out there, dark chocolate (when consumed in moderation) in your diet can help reduce stress in two ways. It can have a:

Chemical impact
Emotional impact

Chocolate is a fantastic stress-reducing food. It has the power to not only reduce stress but also bring happiness and satisfy your sweet tooth. Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants and can reduce stress by decreasing levels of stress hormones (cortisol) present in the body.

5. Spinach

This leafy vegetable is definitely one of the stress-reducing foods you should include in your nutrition plan. Spinach is rich in magnesium, which is known for its stress-busting characteristics. It also contains magnesium which helps regulate blood pressure and cortisol.

Overall, spinach is exceptionally healthy and can be utilized as a salad, consumed with a meal, or used in smoothies to help get in your daily recommended amount of greens.

6. Oatmeal

Oatmeal is one of the recommended stress-reducing foods for all carb lovers out there. We know how difficult it is to control the urge to snack on some sugary treats when stress levels climb.

It is important to acknowledge the craving, but instead of going for that donut, go for a source of healthy complex carbs. Oatmeal is an ideal and beneficial complex carb that will not increase your blood sugar and can also help you reduce stress.

Related Article: Protein Brownie Overnight Oatmeal Recipe

If you were to implement oatmeal into your stress-reducing foods, reach for a plain oatmeal that isn’t flavored with a bunch of sugars and artificial flavoring. You can improve the flavor by using things like nuts, natural peanut butter, adding in some fruit, protein powder, cinnamon, raisins, or honey.

7. Chamomile Tea

Now that we have talked about a few foods, let’s drop in a drink just to show you don’t ONLY need stress-reducing foods, but beverages can also be utilized. Besides going with something like milk to help reduce stress, you can make yourself a nice hot cup of chamomile tea.

This stress-reducing beverage is considered a medicinal herb that has been used since ancient times as a solution to relieve stress disorders.

Chamomile tea has been shown to help promote peaceful sleep and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

8. Avocados

Avocadoes are a great source of monounsaturated fats, folate, and magnesium, which are considered brain-boosting nutrients. Besides that, avocados also contain vitamin C, vitamin E, and are rich in antioxidants that help combat stress and help to minimize harmful inflammation in the body. You could even add avocado oil into your diet and use it when cooking.

9. Yogurt

Yogurt is filled with healthful bacteria, Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus. Studies have shown that these bacteria, along with fermented products, have significant effects on brain health.

Having yogurt and other fermented foods (such as sauerkraut) in your diet can benefit the natural gut bacteria, which may reduce stress and anxiety. If you decide to go with yogurt as one of your stress-reducing foods, consider going with a plain Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt contains more protein when compared to a traditional cup of yogurt, and you can add your own healthy ingredients to it rather than purchasing the variety that contains high amounts of sugar due to the flavoring.

10. Turmeric

Turmeric is one of the best stress-reducing foods that you can add to your dish for that extra boost of beneficial nutrients. Turmeric is known for its anti-inflammatory properties, especially curcumin.

Related Article: Is Turmeric a Supplement You Should Consider?

It is said that curcumin can stimulate “feel-good” hormones in the body, such as dopamine and serotonin. Therefore, turmeric will always be a great choice to help put you in a good mood and reduce stress.

Even if you don’t decide to “eat” turmeric in your diet as one of your stress-reducing foods, you should at least consider using it in a supplement form as it contains many health benefits on top of its ability to help manage stress.

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