The 7 Best Foods to Eat When You’re Stressed Out
There’s nothing like a delicious treat to put you in a good mood. How many times have you reached for a bag of chips or a tub of ice cream to comfort yourself during tense situations? If so, you’ve fallen victim to emotional eating or stress eating.
However, not all foods are created equal when it comes to busting stress. You might be giving your taste buds temporary joy with that bag of chips, but the right food choices can have a more positive impact on your mood.
To help you pick the right options, here are the seven best foods to eat when you’re stressed out. Keep scrolling to see.
Salmon
Not only is salmon delicious, it’s also an excellent food for relieving stress. Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help regulate serotonin levels in the brain. Think of serotonin as the body’s happy chemical – when you have normal levels of the substance in your system, your mood gets a boost and you experience less anxiety.
Moreover, salmon is rich in vitamin D, which has positive effects on a person’s mood as well. Experts say that having salmon three times a week can significantly reduce stress levels.
Nuts and Seeds
Another food group that’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids? Nuts and seeds. Having a handful of walnuts every day, for example, can reduce your stress levels significantly because they’re one of the best sources of omega-3. That’s a great way of getting your serotonin fix if you’re not a fish eater.
Aside from omega-3, nuts and seeds are also packed with magnesium and tryptophan, both of which are excellent stress relievers and mood enhancers. For a good dose of typtophan, reach for some sunflower seeds and chia seeds.
Herbal Tea
Need to de-stress? Just prepare a cuppa. Tea contains an amino acid called L-Theanine, which can boost serotonin and dopamine production in the body. Green tea and black tea are natural sources of L-Theanine, but you have other tea options as well when it comes to combating stress.
A good choice is chamomile tea, which relaxes you and improves sleep by boosting serotonin and melatonin levels. And of course, you’ve heard of the soothing benefits of the scent of lavender, but did you know that taking it as a tea offers the same benefits?
Dark Chocolate
As if you needed more reason to love dark chocolate, the cherished treat actually has health benefits. Dark chocolate can relieve stress by reducing cortisol levels in your system. Cortisol is also known as the “stress hormone,” and it is produced by the body as a response to tense situations. So the next time you’re craving a bar of dark chocolate because you’re feeling stressed, go ahead and treat yourself. There’s actually a science behind your craving.
Milk
Remember when you were a kid and your mom would give you a warm glass of milk at bedtime to help you sleep soundly? It worked, didn’t it? Indeed, a good night’s sleep is an excellent stress buster.
But more than improving sleep, milk actually relieves stress by reducing cortisol levels in the body through a protein called lactium. It also contains tryptophan, an amino acid that increases serotonin levels, which in turn stabilizes mood.
Yogurt
In times of anxiety, you might have felt the urge to reach for a tub of ice cream to comfort yourself. Instead, treat yourself to yogurt. After all, it tastes just as good, plus, it is one of the best foods to eat when you’re stressed out.
Studies show that yogurt and other probiotic and fermented foods may actually improve mental health by boosting the production of serotonin. Eating yogurt twice a day is an excellent – and delicious – way to reduce stress levels.
Spinach
It’s not exactly the kind of treat you’d comfort yourself with when you’re feeling stressed. But you’re actually better off eating spinach or other green leafy veggies than something sweet yet sinful on stressful days.
Spinach is rich in magnesium, and experts say that magnesium deficiency is linked to anxiety. It also has folate, which boosts the production of dopamine (also known as the “feel-good hormone”) in the body.
Make Stress Eating Beneficial With the Right Food Choices
To help you make the right choices when it comes to eating when you're stressed, practice mindful eating, which means you strive to be aware of your thoughts, feelings and actions around eating, including the times before, during and after you eat. By doing this, you’ll be able to think about how choosing a cup of yogurt over a bag of potato chips is ultimately the better choice and feel good about that choice.