Eat to Beat Stress! Plant-Based Superfoods for Stress Relief

Eat to Beat Stress! Enjoy These Plant-Based Superfoods for Stress Relief

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There is no shortage of stress in daily life. Your kids won’t stop fighting. Your flight is delayed. Your boss gives you a tight deadline. You try to juggle all of your responsibilities and still find time for yourself.

These types of demands can contribute to emotional unrest, tension and overwhelm when they become too intense or persist over time. No matter the source, stress often leads to physiological changes within the body that can have long-lasting impacts. Ongoing stress sets off a series of hormonal reactions that can contribute to inflammation, irritability, anxiety and chronic disease.

While you cannot always avoid all stress in your life, you can start to reduce its detrimental impacts by building resiliency and learning how to keep your body balanced. When you eat to beat stress, you consume a diet that provides essential nutrients to support the body in coping with stress and avoiding its negative impacts.

Eat to Beat Stress

In addition to herbs known as adaptogens, there are a variety of foods that provide nutrients to nourish the body and help it cope with stress. When you choose foods that provide the body with the proper nutrients, it is prepared to handle demands and challenges with greater ease.

While each person is unique with personalized nutritional needs, you can eat to beat stress by consuming a variety of healthy foods in their whole food forms to provide the body with essential stress-busting nutrients that protect, relax and nourish the body.

Following an anti-inflammatory diet which is high in antioxidants, fiber and essential phytonutrients and low in processed foods, trans fats and refined sugars help you to stabilize stress hormones like cortisol, control cravings and stay balanced. This way of eating also helps to keep blood sugar levels stable and squelch inflammation to prevent out-of-control stress hormones and breakdown of the body.

In particular, certain vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients help the body cope with and recover from stress. Some of the top stress-crushing nutrients include:

• antioxidants
• vitamin C
• magnesium
• omega-3 fats
• glutathione
• zinc
• B-vitamins

Incorporating whole foods that provide these nutrients into a balanced diet can help you cope with stress and remain calm, focused and balanced throughout your day.

Enjoy These Real Foods That Crush Stress

Berries

Berries such as blueberries, cranberries and blackberries as well as other fruits and vegetables with a blue/red hue are rich in antioxidants like anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid.

Consumption of anthocyanins is associated with reduced oxidative stress, sharper cognition and protection from degenerative diseases. These antioxidants help to counteract the harmful impacts of too much cortisol which floods the body with chronic stress.

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are also rich in vitamin C which supports the adrenal glands to help you cope with stress by maintaining optimal hormone levels.

Vitamin C-rich foods like berries, citrus fruits, bell peppers and kiwi also help to protect cells from free-radical damage induced by stress. Studies suggest that vitamin C can, therefore, prevent stress-induced oxidative damage to the body, reduce overall inflammation and help prevent chronic illnesses like obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Simple Pure Whole Recipes Featuring Berries

•  Granola (GF, EF, DF, Vegan, low in sugar)
• Dandelion Salad with Mulberries and Pistachios with a Citrus Dressing (Grain-Free, GF, DF, EF, Vegan, Paleo, Low-Sugar)

Avocados and Walnuts

Avocados and walnuts are rich in healthy fats that nourish the nervous system and calm the mind. When you are stressed, hormones like cortisol and epinephrine increase in the body.

Healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties that can help to counteract the negative impacts of these stress hormones. Studies suggest that those who consume adequate omega-3 fatty acids have reduced anxiety and can better cope with stress.

Avocados also contain glutathione, one of the master antioxidants and detoxification enzymes in the liver and other tissues which helps protect the body from oxidative stress. Chronic stress depletes the body of this important molecule which is crucial for maintaining healthy immune function, protecting cells from environmental toxins and preventing cancer.

Consuming avocados and sulfur-rich foods like the cruciferous vegetables broccoli, kale and cauliflower as part of an anti-inflammatory diet can help you maintain adequate glutathione levels. You will absorb the most glutathione from avocados if you eat them raw and in their natural state along with a source of vitamin C. Try tossing fresh avocado cubes with grapefruit segments in your salad for a stress-busting meal.

Simple Pure Whole Recipes Featuring Healthy Fats

•  Vegan Cauliflower Apple Walnut Soup with Turmeric (Grain-Free, GF, DF, EF, Vegan, Paleo, Sugar-Free)

This recipe for my Dandelion Salad with Citrus Dressing provides the perfect balance of stress-busting nutrients so you can eat to beat stress!

Leafy-Greens

Leafy greens like spinach, chard, kale and arugula are rich in so many phytonutrients and antioxidants including B-vitamins and magnesium.

Magnesium is a crucial mineral for maintaining calm and inducing relaxation since it helps to regulate cortisol levels. Other great sources of magnesium include pumpkin seeds, beet greens, quinoa and sesame seeds.

Magnesium improves the body’s overall response to stress and helps maintain a healthy blood pressure. Many people are deficient in this important mineral, which may contribute to the risk of insomnia, anxiety and heart disease from chronic stress. A magnesium deficiency can disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenocortical (HPA) axis and central nervous system which coordinate many aspects of the stress response. These systems are crucial for allowing the body to regulate the stress response by releasing the proper amounts of hormones and neurotransmitters under the right circumstances, so a disruption in their normal function often leads to irritability, nervousness and an inability to handle stress.

In addition to magnesium, leafy greens provide the body with B-vitamins. You also need adequate B-vitamins for healthy nerve and brain function. For example, folate contributes to the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine which is involved with the experience of pleasure and remaining calm in the face of stress.

Simple Pure Whole Recipes Featuring Greens

• Glorious Greens for Great Health Workshop & Cookbook
• Dandelion Salad with Mulberries and Pistachios with a Citrus Dressing (Grain-Free, GF, DF, EF, Vegan, Paleo, Low-Sugar)
• Braised Kale with Apples and Carrots (Grain-Free, GF, DF, EF, Vegan, Paleo, NF)
• Perk-Up Ginger Green Smoothie {GF, Vegan, DF, Paleo, Soy-Free, EF, NF, Sugar-Free} 
• Vegan Healthy Shamrock Shake Bowl {GF, Vegan, DF, Paleo, Soy-Free, EF, NF, Sugar-Free}

Cashews

In addition to providing stress-balancing healthy fats and satiating protein, cashews are rich in zinc. Other plant-based sources of zinc include garbanzo beans, pumpkin seeds and mushrooms.

Zinc is a mineral which is essential for neuropsychologic performance and modulating the body’s response to stress. Many enzymes in the body require zinc to function properly, including those involved in protecting the body from oxidative stress.

Emotional stress, as well as physical stress like overtraining, can deplete zinc and lead to deficiencies in this important mineral. The brain is especially rich in zinc, so it is not surprising that zinc deficiency can lead to symptoms of depression, irritability and food cravings.

Like most minerals, the balance of zinc with other nutrients in the body is crucial for neurologic and overall health. Therefore, it is important to always work in conjunction with a practitioner before supplementing or making significant dietary changes.

Simple Pure Whole Recipes Featuring Cashews

• Back to School Gluten-Free Spiced Ginger Coconut Cashew Protein Granola Bars (GF, EF, variations for NF, DF, Vegan)

Dine with Presence

Your attitude towards food and the way in which you eat can also make a difference in how your body handles stress. Mindful eating—paying attention to the smell, taste, temperature, and texture of the food; being aware of your dining experience; recognizing your hunger and level of fullness; and being aware of your surroundings—can add to the stress-busting benefits of your food.

Having the ability to slow down, pause, and remain calm in the present moment allows you to decrease stress and make more balanced food choices.

Instead of turning to traditional “comfort” foods in times of stress, which are often high in sugar and contribute to inflammation, soothe your stress and stabilize your energy with real, whole foods. Incorporating these foods as part of a balanced diet can boost your body’s natural resistance to the harmful impacts of stress.

When you adopt healthy ways to manage stress, like focusing on a stress-busting diet and engaging in practices that help you cope with overwhelm like those presented in my book The Whole Cure (affiliate link), you build resiliency. This gives you the innate strength and physiologic balance which allows you to build true mind-body health! 

How do you eat to beat stress?

Which of these foods is your favorite?

Let me know in the comments below!

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Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this post and related resources is for informational purposes only. Jennifer Weinberg is not providing medical advice, diagnosis or treatment information. The information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. Every body is unique so be sure to check with your health care professional before making any dietary or lifestyle changes taking any medication or nutritional supplement or using any treatment for a health issue. Do not use this information provided for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. If you suspect you have a medical problem please contact your health care provider promptly and do not disregard professional medical advice based on anything on this website. This website and related resources are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease and do not create a doctor-patient relationship between you and Jennifer Weinberg. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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