Stress is an unavoidable part of life, whether related to work, family issues, friendships, or the accumulation of everyday inconveniences. While we can’t escape stress entirely, there are strategies to manage its impact and prevent it from becoming a chronic issue.
Chronic stress can lead to serious health problems, including heart disease, depression, and obesity. We can minimize the effects by adopting numerous lifestyle changes.
One of them is monitoring diet. What we eat during stressful times can exacerbate or help alleviate stress levels. Recognizing the connection between food and well-being gives us the knowledge to make informed food choices that could prevent future health implications.
Key Takeaways
What is the Connection Between Diet and Stress?
You may be wondering how diet impacts stress levels. Well, your brain and gut are linked. The gut-brain axis links the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with intestinal function.
The gut microbiome and the brain can continuously interact and influence each other's responses.
Although research on diet and mood is limited, studies are starting to find links between the health of your gut microbiome and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression.
The gut produces a portion of the body’s serotonin, which the microbiome helps regulate. Since serotonin is crucial for mood regulation in the brain, any dysfunction in the gut can impact the brain’s ability to maintain a stable mood. In other words, if the gut is not functioning, it may influence overall mood.
Studies have found that in depressed patients, there was decreased microbial diversity. Our guts can't perform all their functions without diversity, which we often get from a varied diet.
What Should You Limit
During stressful periods, maintaining healthy habits is the last of your worries.
I cast my mind back to when I was completing my studies, with weekly deadlines forever looming, making conscious food choices was not on my mind. However, this is when we should pay attention to what we eat, as simple dietary changes can help attenuate the stress response.
What are the things that we should try our best to limit during these stressful spells?
Caffeine
Research suggests keeping our amounts of caffeine well under 400mg each day. To help you visualize what 400mg looks like, an americano has roughly 150mg of caffeine; the average American drinks 3 cups a day, exceeding recommended limits. Stress alone increases cortisol nine times compared to relaxed periods.
Adding high levels of caffeine to the mix consistently can lead to inflammation and a weakened immune system.
Ultra-processed foods
When stressed, we often turn to convenience foods that are ultra-processed and high in fat or sugar. This choice spares us the effort of cooking but may leave us unsatisfied.
These foods, especially those that contain artificial sweeteners, have no nutritional value. They can increase damaging gut bacteria and negatively affect mood.
Stress can also trigger hunger hormones, making us hungrier than usual and increasing our cravings for sugary foods. While these foods provide a quick energy boost, they are followed by a rapid energy decline, further exacerbating our stress.
What Should You Prioritise?
Making a conscious effort to include healthful foods will seek to ease your body instead of causing inflammation.
High Fibre Foods
Including foods high in fibre is a good starting point. Although we cannot digest fibrous foods, they enable our gut microbiome to thrive as they seek to increase good bacteria. These foods include fruits like bananas and berries, oats, legumes like lentils and chickpeas, and a large selection of vegetables.
Fermented Foods
If you have read any of my previous articles, you have probably already heard me going on about the benefits of fermented foods! One of those benefits is improved gut health. Although there is not a lot of research on whether fermented foods can improve your mental health, we know they contain live microbes that benefit our gut. Research suggests that people who ate fermented foods vs those who didn’t had more bacterial diversity. Foods include probiotic yogurts, kimchi, miso paste, and kombucha.
Omega 3s
Research suggests that adding foods rich in Omega 3s can have an impact on reducing anxiety. With Omega 3s being known for their need for brain function, you can see how research suggests that there could be a link to our mood.
There are three main types of omega 3s ALA, EPA, and DHA. Plant foods are a source of ALA omega 3s, whereas fish contains DHA and EPA. For our body to benefit from omega 3s, they must be in the form of EPA or DHA. Our body can convert ALA omega 3s from plant foods to EPA and DHA. But it is usually at a low rate. Flax seeds, chia seeds, and walnuts are sources of ALA and help the body to produce EPA and DHA, which is still important even though it is at a low rate.
Algae and seaweed are some of the few plant-based sources that contain DHA and EPA. Algae supplements and having crispy seaweed for a snack will provide DHA omega 3.
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