Unfortunately, stress is very much a part of normal everyday living. Stress affects everyone in different ways and can really affect quality of life. The good news is that the right nutrition can have a positive influence on the body and mind, particularly during stressful situations and for everyday life.

Clinical nutritionist, Suzie Sawyer, shares her five top nutrients and foods to help keep you calm and reduce stress.

 

 

B Vitamins

These are key to the production of our stress hormones and for the health of the central nervous system generally. B vitamins are also used up during stressful times so they certainly need to feature highly in your anti-stress larder. Plus, they’re essential for helping the body release energy from food which can be very helpful when stress is sapping your energy levels.

Make sure you’re eating plenty of B vitamins throughout the day as they’re water-soluble so are quickly excreted from the body. The great news is that they’re found in so many different foods. Wholegrain cereals such as oats (porridge for breakfast), eggs, beans and seafood (all great as part of a lunchtime salad), green leafy vegetables and other whole grains such as rice (salmon, brown rice and broccoli for dinner). They are certainly easy to incorporate into the daily diet.

Vitamin C

Another important nutrient that’s needed for production of stress hormones, but vitamin C also helps fight infections; the body is more susceptible to attack from viruses when stressed. Whilst vitamin C is found in lots of fruits and vegetables, especially peppers, berry fruits, citrus fruits and kiwis, it’s not that easy to eat enough when your body and mind are really stressed.

To increase intake, why not make a daily juice with mostly vegetables and some added apple or pineapple for taste? Whilst there’s lots of negative press about juicing, mainly because it lacks fibre and beneficial enzymes, it can really increase your intake of vitamin C, which is much-needed during stressful times. You should also include plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables with your meals to gain benefit from all the other compounds naturally found in these foods. Plus of course, even more vitamin C!

Green Tea

Green tea contains an amino acid called theanine which helps promote the production of one of the brain’s calming neurotransmitters, GABA. In fact, even though green tea contains a small amount of caffeine, theanine helps balance out the stimulatory effect of the caffeine: when you’re stressed, excess caffeine can stimulate feelings of anxiety, worsening the stress response. Green tea also contains lots of antioxidants which help protect the body from infection, which can often become more prevalent during stressful times.

Look for pure green tea which is readily available in supermarkets or health food stores and drink around three cups a day for best results.

Green leafy vegetables

These are superfoods for many reasons. Not only are they high in B vitamins which support the nervous system, they’re also loaded with calming magnesium. In fact, magnesium is known as ‘nature’s natural tranquiliser’ because it helps relax muscles and creates feelings of calm within the body. Moreover, it’s used up more during stressful situations which means ideally we need to be taking in more.

Broccoli, cauliflower, pak choi, kale and sprouts are all great for their magnesium content and are very quick and easy veggies to cook and include in the daily diet. For those who really don’t like their ‘greens’ then why not try adding broccoli and pak choi to stir fries? Try grilling kale with a little olive oil sprinkled with salt. Have a go at flash frying sprouts with bacon. It couldn’t be easier!

Natural yoghurt

The reason that natural yoghurt can really help manage stress levels is because it’s loaded with probiotics. These naturally feed your good gut bacteria, which in turn have a very positive effect on mental health and overall wellbeing. Additionally, dairy products contain B vitamins so you’ll be gaining double the benefit.

Importantly, the yoghurt needs to be ’live’ to contain the beneficial bacteria, and natural; many fruit yoghurts contain lots of sugar which will have the reverse effect. Yoghurt is great added to your wholegrain breakfast cereal of choice, with some berries, or it makes an excellent snack on its own.

So try and make the right nutrition your first priority to help balance the stresses and strains of daily life.

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