Feeling anxious, overwhelmed or about to pull your hair out? Your diet could be the culprit. We take a look at the foods to help soothe your anxiety, and the cravings you must conquer to stop stress in its tracks

 

EAT

Almonds

When you’re feeling stressed, your body becomes vulnerable to illness due to the weakened immune system. And what happens when you get ill? You become even more stressed.

You may be able to avoid this unhealthy stress-cycle by snacking on almonds.

Almonds contain vitamin E, which protects cell membranes and gives your immune system a kickstart.

Don’t worry about the high fat levels in almonds. These fats are the unsaturated ‘good’ fats that experts suggest we need more of in our diets, so as long as you limit your portions you can snack guilt-free.

Blueberries

German scientists tested the stress-busting powers of various foods by asking participants to give speeches and solve complex mental tasks.

They found that those who ate blueberries beforehand displayed lower levels of the ‘stress hormone’ cortisol after their challenge.

This was thanks to the combination of vitamin C and other antioxidants found in blueberries, which help your body fight back against the cell damage caused by stress.

If you’ve got a deadline at work or an upcoming interview that’s making you anxious, stock up on some delicious fresh blueberries.

Broccoli

Broccoli should be at the top of your shopping list if you want to banish stress for good.

Stress and anxiety can often be linked to a lack of B vitamins, and broccoli is absolutely packed with them. B vitamins help relieve stress by maintaining brain cell and nervous system health.

Broccoli also contains folic acid, which in a study at the University of Maryland Medical Centre was shown to help with the treatment of depression and stress.

Sunflower seeds

The best way of fighting back against stress-causing cortisol is by topping up your levels of serotonin, otherwise known as the ‘happiness hormone’.

One easy way you can boost your body’s natural production of serotonin is with the aminoacid tryptophan, which is abundant in healthy seeds such as sunflower seeds.

As well as helping you stay happy, sunflower seeds will keep you calm when things get overwhelming. That’s because they also contain magnesium, which has been found to have a calming effect on stressed people.

AVOID

Spicy foods

One of the many physical symptoms of stress can be digestive issues such as heartburn and indigestion. Serious cases of stress can drastically reduce your metabolism, leading to slower digestion of food.

This makes your stomach particularly susceptible to spicy foods, and increases your chances of suffering from acid reflux.

When you’re stressed, do your best to stick to more palate-friendly foods (like those listed here!) to allow your vulnerable digestive system to recover.

Caffeine

When you’re stressed, your first instinct may be to grab a coffee or Red Bull. But while caffeine-filled drinks might be great for giving you an energy boost, they can also play havoc with your stress levels. Caffeine is a natural stimulant and can cause an increase in your heart rate and blood pressure.

That means as well as waking you up, your morning cup of coffee is setting you up to be jittery and stressed for the day ahead.

Perhaps worst of all, caffeine can interrupt your natural sleep pattern. When your body is robbed of a proper night’s sleep it doesn’t have time to fully rest and recuperate, so stress levels rise.

Energy drinks are even worse, and should be avoided altogether. As well as caffeine, they are usually packed full of sugar, which can lead to a sugar crash shortly after the initial energy boost.

Processed foods

In a recent study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, scientists discovered a shocking link between processed foods and feelings of stress and depression.

In the experiment, when people’s diets were mainly made up of processed meats and fried foods, they were a staggering 58 per cent more likely to be either depressed or anxious.

When you look at how these foods interact with your body, the reason for this increase in stress levels becomes obvious – processed foods are high in fat and sugar, which both increase the amount of cortisol in the body.

Sweets

Sorry sweet tooths! Although sweet treats such as cakes and candy are fine as a rare treat, if you over-indulge you risk setting yourself up for a day of stress.

The artificial sweetener aspartame often sneaks its way into sweet treats instead of sugar, and this stuff is downright bad for you.

In a study into artificial sweeteners at the National Research Centre in Cairo, Egypt, researchers discovered a link between aspartame and memory loss caused by oxidative stress.

Likewise, food dyes like Red #40 and Yellow #5, which are used to give sweets their bright colours, have been found to cause mood swings.

It’s thought that these artificial flavourings and colourings cause stress because they disrupt the normal functions of the nervous system.