Do you ever feel like there are never enough hours in the day and your life is completely out of balance?
Drowning with too much happening? Let me throw you a lifeline….
The food and drink in your diet can profoundly improve or worsen your stress levels.
Sugars, poor fats, refined and highly processed foods are nutrient poor, exacerbating stress. Excess alcohol also robs your body of micronutrients needed to manage stress, particularly your B vitamins.
Eating nutrient dense foods optimizes your neurotransmitters and hormones to:
- motivate you to respond to stressors effectively,
- improve concentration, memory and mental alertness,
- relax and chill out,
- improve sleep quality.
These include
- protein – from animal products, legumes & wholegrains are converted into neurotransmitters and hormones, which regulate stress.
- nutrient dense foods such as vegetables providing vitamins and minerals required for efficient production of these substances.
- good quality fats which improve brain and nerve function
Good energy levels – the other ingredient to stress busting.
Energy levels like a rollercoaster? It’s hard to cope when you’re slumping.
Your energy is affected by:
- what you eat – choose low GI (slowly absorbed) nutrient dense foods
- when you eat – regular intake maintains constant supply of nutrients & prevents slumps, particularly protein
- how you eat, digest and absorb your food – stop and breathe deeply before eating and eat slower to improve release of digestive enzymes
- being active – improves energy production & provides stress outlet
- sleep quality – switch off electronics one hour before bed and limit alcohol
Want to improve your mood and reduce the risk of dementia at the same time?
Include good oils, such as fish oils, mono and polyunsaturated oils to improve mood, nerve transmission and brain cell health.
What you eat is important but HOW YOU EAT can also have a profound influence – Watch for Stress Busting 102
aboutnutrition.me 