#HealthBytes: Top 5 food items to help you manage stress
When you're stressed out, you'd want to run for your favorite cheese burgers or grab a bucketful of fried chicken, or maybe a bowl of vanilla ice-cream. These food items might help you calm down for a short while, but will, ultimately, ruin your physical and mental health. Know that a healthy lifestyle and diet can help. Here are top 5 food items to help you manage stress.
Grab on those almonds and walnuts
Stress depletes our body's Vitamin-B levels. And, snacking on nuts can help restore the same. Further, research suggests that the potassium in nuts lowers blood pressure, and reduces the strain that stress might put on our heart. Plus, nuts are easy-peasy to have- you can pick some on-the-go, and start munching right away. Don't forget to mind the numbers though, to avoid getting fat.
No need to shrink your love for chocolates
Research suggests that consuming chocolate can help keep levels of stress hormones (including cortisol) in check. Also, chocolate is a natural mood-booster that promotes positive thoughts. But, don't fall prey to sugar-loaded products being sold in supermarkets in the name of chocolates- choose good-quality dark chocolate (that's at-least 70% cocoa). Also, mind your portions, as too much of dark chocolate may bring unwanted calories.
A time-tested drink for quality sleep and calm mind
Milk has, since long, been preferred as a pre-bedtime remedy for treating insomnia and restlessness, thus bringing better quality sleep. That's because milk has plenty of antioxidants and is also rich in Vitamins-B2, B12, protein and calcium. Further, the protein lactium calms you down by lowering your blood pressure, while the potassium content of milk relieves muscle spasms that are triggered by stress.
Who doesn't love strawberries and blueberries, anyway?
Apart from the juicily delicious taste of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), they've also been shown to lower blood pressure and cortisol (stress hormone) levels. This happens because berries are rich in antioxidants such as anthocyanin, which are known to have amazingly positive effects on our body, including boosting the brain power. Additionally, the high Vitamin-C content of berries can significantly help lower stress levels.
Go for herbal tea to calm yourself down
A recent study found out that participants who drank tea de-stressed quicker and had lower levels of stress-hormone, as compared to others. But, do stick to non-caffeinated, herbal tea options like chamomile, peppermint or ginger tea. They can help soothe the digestive tract, and have a calming effect on your body. And you just got another reason to love your morning tea.
