When someone asks, “How are you doing?” what is your response? If it’s typically, “Busy!” or “Stressed out,” then take a moment to read this article for some self-care. It could help you reduce stress and anxiety and change how you feel, so the next time someone asks how you’re doing, you can honestly say, “I’m great!”

If you are like many of us these days, your responsibilities including being a spouse, parent, boss or entrepreneur, employee with a side hustle, and/or community volunteer. Juggling these roles likely leaves you mentally and emotionally drained at the end of the day. Sometimes all you want to do is order pizza, pour a glass (or two) of wine, and enjoy some chocolate while you watch TV.

We all want to relieve stress, but have you ever stopped to wonder if feel-good habits like pizza, wine, and chocolate truly relieve your stress or if they make it worse?

You are about to learn the answers to these questions, along with three simple changes you can make to reduce anxious feelings, improve stress management, and feel more of the calm you crave!

Food’s Effect on Stress and Anxiety

What we eat has a direct impact on mental and physical health. Some foods can worsen feelings of stress and anxiety, while others provide relief. According to an article in the Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, “A nutritious, well-balanced diet has powerful stress-reducing benefits that improve brain functioning, shore up immune function, lower blood pressure, improve circulation, and reduce toxins from the body. Some specific nutrients play a very specific and important role in stress management by reducing the levels of cortisol and adrenalin in the body and the stress chemicals that activate fight and flight response” (Singh, 2016).

Below are important nutrients that promote calm feelings and capability to cope with life’s stressors. This list explains how components of food interact with the body’s chemistry to improve mental health.

Nutrients You Need to Reduce Stress and Anxiety

1. Fruits & Vegetables (5-10 servings/day) – the vitamins and antioxidants in produce protect against the harmful effects of stress in the body. Diets high in fruit and vegetable consumption are associated with less perceived stress (Lab Online, 2020).
2. Vitamin C (90-2000mg/day) – may improve mood, help treat stress-related disorders like anxiety, and reduce the stress hormone cortisol (Moritz, 2020). In one study, people who supplemented with vitamin C experienced less stage fright and quicker recovery of cortisol levels after the stressful event (Singh, 2016).
3. Vitamin B5 and B12 (B5: 5mg/day ; B12: 2.5 mcg/day) – vitamin B deficiencies can increase the risk of developing stress-related symptoms. B5 and B12 seem to have particularly helpful roles in producing the “happy” brain chemicals dopamine and serotonin (Healthline, 2020).
4. Magnesium (310mg/day)– relaxes the mind and muscles and alleviates stress (Pouteau, 2018). Magnesium aids in regulating cortisol levels and promoting dopamine production.
5. Omega-3 Fatty Acids (1000-2,200 mg/day)-  these building blocks of the brain (aka “brain food”)  reduce stress-causing inflammation, help stabilize mood, and serve as natural anti-depressants (Singh, 2016).
6. Theanine (200mg)– an amino acid found in green and black tea, L-theanine has been shown in studies to have anti-stress effects and promote feelings of calmness without any sedative effect.

Stress-Relieving Foods to Add to Your Diet

So, how do you get these vitamins and minerals into your diet? Below is a simplified list of the top foods that will give you at least two stress-relieving nutrients. Focus on adding these multi-tasking foods into your meals to feel calmer and more collected.

1. Green vegetables (4-6 servings per day): spinach, kale, asparagus, broccoli, bok choy
2. Fruit (4-6 servings per day): orange, grapefruit, kiwi, berries, banana
3. Protein (3-5 servings per day): wild salmon and other fatty fish, pasture-raised eggs, tempeh, lentils & beans
4. Whole grains (3 servings per day): oatmeal, buckwheat, quinoa
5. Fat (2-3 servings per day): avocado, flaxseed oil
6. Seeds & Nuts (3-5 servings per week): chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds/pepitas, walnuts
7. Dark chocolate (1-2 servings daily) – must be 70% cacao or higher
8. Decaf green or black tea: 1 cup = about 25mg of theanine.  (Most studies show significant benefits around 200mg, so you may need to supplement if you find that a few cups do not promote calmness. However, often the routine of a warm drink itself can be calming!)

TAKE ACTION! Now, take a moment to put this information into practice. Write down at least two of the above foods that you could easily add into your weekly meals next week. Then write down HOW you will add them in. For instance, “Instead of cereal, I will eat a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast with sliced banana and flaxseeds.” or “Two nights per week I will have salmon for dinner with a side of broccoli”.

Foods That Cause Stress

Remember that pizza and wine to unwind at the end of the day? These would be considered “SAD” foods that are associated with higher stress. More than an emotion they can make you feel, SAD stands for the Standard American Diet, whichconsists of packaged and processed foods, red meat, high-fat foods and high sugar content. Professor Carol A. Shively, principal investigator of a study conducted on stress-reducing effects of the Mediterranean diet, stated, “The Western diet increased the sympathetic response to stress, which is like having the panic button on all the time — and that isn’t healthy” (Lab Online, 2010).

Without knowing it, comfort foods may cause more stress and anxiety, not less! Think of it like putting fuel in your car: if your car requires premium fuel but you always put in the lowest grade, your car will still run, but eventually it will break down faster. Your mind and body are like a vehicle requiring premium fuel (organic fruits and vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C, etc.) You can eat mostly processed foods and survive, but eventually you will start to break down because low-grade fuel is not what you are designed to thrive on.  

What are processed foods? Any food that has been transformed from its original form and nutritional status to get onto our plates. For instance, wheat that becomes white flour and is stripped of almost every nutrient in the process. Or sausage that combines many ground parts of the animal with salt, sugar, spices, fillers like soy or breadcrumbs, artificial colors and chemical preservatives. It hardly resembles the animal it came from when you buy it off store shelves.

Reduce These Foods to Feel Calmer

Many of our SAD foods are deceptive because they are initially pleasure-producing, but later leave us more, well, sad. Refined sugar is an example of this – it gives you a huge hit of dopamine (the feel-good chemical), then causes you to “crash” later on. If you have children, you’ve probably witnessed this first-hand after eating candy. This crash can make you tired, moody, and less capable of handling stress.

Processed and Refined Foods

The following foods contribute to inflammation, which is linked to more stress and negative emotions (Kiecolt-Glaser, 2010). Reduce and replace these “low-grade fuels” to fight stress.

1. Meats: bacon, salami, hot dogs, chorizo, sausages
2. Baked goods: pastries, cookies, cakes, pies
3. Packaged snack foods: potato chips, crackers, cheese, granola bars, candy bars
4. Convenience foods: frozen pizzas and dinners, canned soups and noodles, sauces, fast food
5. Fried foods: French fries, chicken, empanadas, tempura sushi, samosas
6. Refined vegetable oils and trans fat: Canola oil, corn oil, peanut oil, margarine, shortening, fried foods
7. Refined sugar and carbohydrates: White flour products (bread, rice, tortillas, pasta), most baked goods, candy, table sugar, soda, ice cream

Alcohol and Caffeine: Like refined sugar, caffeine and alcohol provide a positive affect at first, but when they wear off you are tired and more prone to mood swings and depression. They also both interfere with quality sleep, which is essential for recovering from and coping with stress.

What Can I Eat?

Are you wondering, “Well, what’s left to eat?!”

Don’t worry – you don’t need to stop enjoying food. Along with the previous list of foods that reduce stress, there are simple ways to upgrade your stress-inducing foods to improve your mental state. For instance, if you love pasta, try swapping out your white pasta for whole grain pasta, lentil pasta, or rice pasta. Instead of white sugar, use honey. Choose chicken or a lean steak instead of sausage and bacon. Instead of going out for a greasy burger and fries, make your own lean-beef patties at home and bake sweet potato fries. with If you love ice cream, try these  easy “Nice Cream” recipes using frozen bananas for a natural dessert.

We often crave comfort foods because we associate them with making us feel better. A more natural alternative offers us the same emotional comfort plus health benefits. If you opt for nice cream, you’ll be getting a dose of magnesium, B vitamins, and a natural hit of dopamine!

Move More for Mental Health

Nutrient-rich foods are crucial, but combining them with physical movement is even more powerful for managing anxiety. Though the focus of this article is on nutrition, no discussion on stress relief would be complete without a reminder that exercise is key to resolving stress. Consistent activity has been shown to provide as much relief from stressors as prescription medications! Exercise reduces the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline while also releasing endorphins, chemicals that make us feel good and promote relaxation. As neuromuscular therapist, Carol Welch, said, “Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.”

Regular physical activity helps to improve sleep, release tension and provides an opportunity to “get away from it all.” All it takes is150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise (20-30 minutes daily) or about 75 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly (Center for Disease Control, 2020). One of my personal favorites is using a lunch hour to walk around the block for 20-30 minutes. Not only does it get your blood flowing and promote relaxation, but it clears your head and can even boost productivity and creativity!

10 ideas for fitting exercise into your day:

1. Walk around the block for 20-30 minutes at a brisk pace.
2. Do an intense 15-20 minute run or bike before or after work.
3. Use your 10-minute work breaks to walk around the building or up and down some stairs.
4. Take a fun dance or Zumba class.
5. Do 30 minutes of calisthenics or aerobics during your lunch hour.
6. Take a yoga class that includes a focus on breathwork.
7. Do 20 minutes of weightlifting and 20 minutes of aerobic exercise to start your day.
8. Take a tai chi or Qi Gong class.
9. Go for a hike on the weekend with your family or friends
10. Take your kids to the pool and swim with them

Now You Know

I recently met a woman who was going through unimaginably difficult life circumstances. Her anxiety was sky-high, her blood pressure was over 180 and resting heart rate of 100bpm! She was so stressed out her life was on the line. She switched to a plant-based diet, quit drinking alcohol, and started walking 30 minutes each day. When I saw her again a few weeks later, she had drastically improved. “I feel so good,” she said. “I can’t believe everyone doesn’t know about this!” Her anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate came way down all because of some simple changes to her diet and exercise.

Now you also know that certain foods can reduce or aggravate feelings of stress and that more physical activity can help as well. Below you’ll also see a list of meal ideas for a full day packed with stress-reducing foods to help you put it all together. Head to the grocery store today to stock up on some of these foods, and use this new knowledge as a foundation for better habits that will enhance you and your family’s lives. While your unique daily challenges are difficult to change, you are empowered to change how you respond to them!