How To Combat Stress With These Seven Superfoods

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone is starting 2016 off on the right track! If not, then Shame on You!

Anyway, let’s keep on bloggin’!

Blueberries, one of the superfoods

We all know that foods play a very significant role in our lives, whether to benefit our bodies and/or just to be eating, if you know what I mean (the live-to-eat type)! But do you know that there are certain types of foods that we can eat to help fight off stress? Yes, this is very true. This comes into play when we begin to adopt a healthy lifestyle and diet.

Although comfort foods may bring “comfort” to us, it is only short-lived. As a result, they are more likely to bring on more stress. If we want to nip stress in the bud, then we should choose superfoods. For those of you that are not familiar with the term superfoods, they have many health benefits due to their high amount of phytonutrient content.

The following are seven superfoods that can help combat stress:

Orange: This is one of the most common superfoods that can combat stress. It has a significant amount of antioxidants, in particular Vitamin C, which limits physical as well as psychological impact of stress. According to different studies, especially where there are psychological challenging situations, people that were taking a proper amount of Vitamin C, were less likely to experience a high amount of stress than the people that were not taking Vitamin C. In addition, it aids your body to fight stress by regulating the primary stress hormone, known as cortisol. Also, the citrus scent that orange provides reduces anxiety and stress.

Blueberries: Like oranges, blueberries have a high antioxidant content. It also slows the aging process and protect against conditions as in heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Studies also suggest the blueberries protect the brain from stress.

Banana: Many of us like to exclude this superfood (I hope that the monkeys do read or hear this)! Banana has a high amount of potassium. During stressful situations, the potassium levels tend to be reduced in our bodies. In essence, it aids in lowering blood pressure. Not only this superfood helps relieve stress, it also has many healthy benefits. It brings relief to those of us that are suffering from constipation, heartburn, ulcers, even a hangover, just to name a few. Since a banana is very high in potassium, it is very useful in terms of controlling the nicotine withdrawal impact.

Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate made the superfood list for combating stress. But be careful, eat this food in moderation. Besides that point, this food eases the stress emotions and lower blood pressure as well as reducing the hormones that are released by the adrenal glands, which are the source for stress. Dark chocolate boosts serotonin (regulates mood, memory, appetite, and sleep) levels in our brain, which stabilizes our mood swings. It also regulates the metabolism, reduces the likelihood of a heart attack and stroke.

Cashews: Cashews are very rich in zinc, which is the perfect solution for stress relief. In addition, low zinc levels are often connected to stress and anxiety. This nut aids in the reduction of blood cholesterol levels.

Oatmeal: This good and hearty cereal has a lot of B Vitamins, which activates the serotonin levels in the brain. Trust me, if you eat oatmeal on a regular basis, then it can serve your nervous system very well.

Spinach: Spinach has a high source of magnesium, which aids in lowering your stress levels. It also controls normal nerve and functioning of your muscles. Beside magnesium, it also contains Vitamins C and K, iron, calcium, and folate, just to name a few. It also protects our bodies from oxidative and inflammatory stress.

These are some of these wonderful superfoods that you can help you get started in combating your stress levels. By consuming these foods, you are more likely to have less stress than those that do not consume superfoods.

Has these superfoods helped you in combating your stress levels? Share your comments and thoughts in the comments section.

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Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.

~Leo Tolstoy