The global stress industry is booming. Stress-relief is not just breathing exercises, yoga, spinning or Pilates. Eating right is the key to good health. It’s the right bacteria that decide your daily mood and health.
Partaking of foods rich in fibre such as whole-grains and legumes, antioxidants like dark chocolate and pecans and polyphenol-rich turmeric, fruits and vegetables and protein-heavy food such as fish and lean meat are the key to perfect health. Dietary experts say that all it takes to destroy good gut bacteria is a few days with diets low in fibre and high in fat.
This is a self-defeating cycle. Poor diet means poor health, which leads to poor body confidence that causes stress, which causes us to reach for comfort food. These are heavy with carbohydrates and boost serotonin—the happiness chemical. Bad idea.
It makes the food you eat low in chlorine and vitamin D, which are necessary nutrients. You may notice worse stress levels and help combat stress fatigue.
A couple of eggs will do. Vegetarians can try almonds. Vegans can order in soy yoghurt. Comfort foods are not all burgers and alu-poori. To crank up serotonin production that calms the brain, eat complex carbs that take longer to digest: oatmeal, whole-grain breads, pastas and breakfast cereals. These carbs stabilise blood sugar levels and blood pressure.
Good nutrition enhances physical performance. After a strenuous workout an omelette and a couple of slices of gluten-free toast taken with a natural smoothie form a nutrition-packed recovery package. It contains sufficient protein, carbs and micro-nutrients.
Poor diet has a negative impact on coronary health. A daily dose of pistachios and almonds lower cholesterol and handle arterial inflammation. Chronic stress lights up stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol leading to clotting that may cause a heart attack. No, alcohol doesn’t help.
Rule of thumb is to figure out your carbs. Simple carbs such as sweets and sodas increase blood sugar levels. Oranges are full of vitamin C, a stress-buster. Channel Popeye with spinach. Omega 3-rich fatty fish such as salmon and tuna afford protection against heart disease and depression.
Black tea calms. Avocados are expensive, but a price worth paying because of its high potassium content. Calcium has a naughty role to play in mood swings: a glass of warm milk at bedtime cannot hurt.
And eat thrice a day. It’s important to stabilise your ghrelin levels, which begins to increase around three hours after eating. The hunger hormone ghrelin will instil the craving for the wrong foods should you go on a crash diet or control calories OTT. Good physical health and hence mental positivity is dependent on a complex, interlinked structure of proteins, vitamins and hormones functioning in harmony. Hold that pizza.