Five Foods to Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety

When we are run down or feeling low, the tendency is to reach for comfort food. Fatty and sugary foodstuffs are usually high on the list, but do they really help relax us and lift our moods? Unfortunately, the answer is very often ‘no’. In fact, often eating so-called junk food only serves to increase feelings of guilt that feed into the anxiety. However, you can find a host of genuine foods to help reduce stress and we have highlighted five of the best here.

Not only does the food you eat affect your body, but it is also important for your brain too. Ensuring your diet provides the nutrition you need through specific foods to help reduce stress and anxiety is key for maintaining good mental health. So next time you feel anxious and in need of a boost, ditch the cake and try out one of these great stress-relieving foods.

1) Asparagus

Research suggests that a deficiency of folate, a B vitamin, can contribute towards anxiety. Bearing that in mind, you should look for foods that contain a high percentage of this important nutrient. One of those foods is asparagus.

The good thing about asparagus is that it is fairly versatile, increasing the chances that you will find at least one method of preparing it that you like. You can grill asparagus, steam it, fry it, boil it, add it to soup, and use it to scoop up dips like houmous, among many other serving suggestions.

Thanks to high levels of folate, asparagus is a great suggestion when it comes to looking for foods to help reduce stress and anxiety.

2)  Blueberries

There are links between low levels of antioxidants in people’s diets and anxiety. This means that one way to reduce this state is to increase your intake of foods that contain large amounts of antioxidants. Blueberries are bursting with Vitamin C and flavonoids, both of which can help with the health of your brain and, therefore, contribute to a lowering of anxiety symptoms.

You can add blueberries into your diet as a snack between meals, mix them into a salad, use them to top your porridge or find another way to eat this berry that has been classed as a superfood.

3) Salmon

With a combination of Vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, salmon is one of the go-to foods to help reduce stress and anxiety. These nutrients help to regulate levels of serotonin and dopamine, which help you relax and keep you calm, making it an ideal food for battling anxiety and stress.

The fatty acids guard against dysfunction in the brain and help it to adapt to different situations. This can be crucial in giving you an opportunity to head off attacks by recognising the triggers and instigating a coping strategy as early as possible.

4) Dark Chocolate

Not all chocolate is helpful for avoiding stress and anxiety, but dark chocolate certainly has potential. The flavonols within dark chocolate improve blood flow to the brain. This in turn helps the brain to deal with stressful situations.

Eating dark chocolate can reduce levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, and increase serotonin, which is important in the battle to reduce stress and anxiety. It is recommended that you consume dark chocolate in moderation, as it is calorific. But small amounts of this food can help reduce stress and anxiety.

5) Yogurt

The probiotics of yogurt help make this one of the best foods to reduce stress and anxiety. These healthy bacteria fight neurotoxins that can damage your brain’s nerve tissue. In addition, yogurt encourages better function of the parts of the brain that control your emotions. This is important when battling stress and anxiety.

More Help With Foods to Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety

When looking for foods to help reduce stress and anxiety, you could also consider using CBD as a food supplement. Users report a smooth, relaxing feeling when adding this safe and natural product to their meals. When used in combination with the foods above, this could prove a powerful weapon in reducing the feelings of anxiety and stress that affect so many of us nowadays.

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