Healthy Food Choices for Stress

Video Transcript

MARY HONDROS: Okay, the next topic I am going to talk about is stress. Stress is a normal reaction when we feel like we have too much on our plate to handle. So short--short time stress can actually be a good thing. It can motivate you to do what you need to get done. Chronic stress however is not so good for you because stress causes hormones like cortisol on your body to increase which are meant to speed up your metabolism and to make you less tired, to make--keep you moving. So chronic stress of course means that you are going to have these high levels of hormones in your bodies which are not healthy and it exposes your body to things that does not need to be exposed to. So some of the side effects of chronic stress include headache, fatigue, sleeplessness and a lowered immune system which you do not want to have. Things that can make stress worse: coffees, teas anything with caffeine, high fat, fried foods. All those can worsen stress. But then there are foods that can help stress and those include high carbohydrate foods, fruits like blueberries, cantaloupe, nuts like almonds. Those are all good stress reliever. So four tips if you are under a lot of stress and you need to keep your stress intact, make sure that you limit the alcohol that you drink and also limit the caffeine you drink. You do not need too much caffeine. It is going to make the stress worse. Choose fruit--fresh fruits and vegetables like blueberries and cantaloupe. Those are great sources if you are stressed out. Carbohydrates, especially like breads and pastas increase the serotonin levels in your body which helps relax you because serotonin is that chemical in your body that makes you feel relax. So you know enjoy a bowl of your favorite macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes. These are high carb foods that are going to help calm you down. And lastly, something like almonds also increase the serotonin in your body so that is a great choice to help you if you are feeling stressed out. So those are four tips on reducing your stress.