RECIPES TO HELP COMBAT THE NEGATIVE AFFECTS OF STRESS

Stress wrecks havoc on your body, especially your gut health.  Although, you can’t control the stress you are given, you can control how you react to it and adopt protective lifestyle habits and food choices lessoning its wrath.

Anxiety, depression and self-defeating thoughts can happen without any outside influence when your body’s needs are not met nutritionally and your gut is a wreck.   Addressing the gut imbalance is key as many studies have shown specific strains of bacteria to attenuate stress responses.  Some Ohio State researchers also found that exposure to stress changes the composition, diversity & number of gut microorganisms and had greater numbers of potentially harmful bacteria.  So learning to manage stress is vital to your overall health.

Foods that help support a high stress lifestyle with a protective affect while growing the good bacteria in your gut include….

Foods rich in B Vitamins – B vitamins are water soluble, which are easily excreted.  When stress is high your body burns through those B’s more quickly.  Consuming foods rich in B’s will help protect your cells from the damaging effects of stress.  These are foods like dark leafy greens, lentils, nuts, dairy, chicken, beef, seafood, eggs, mushrooms & broccoli.  Try our oven roasted broccoli recipe full of vitamins B1, B3, B5 & B6, not to mention the added fiber that friendly bacteria love, protein, iron, potassium, zinc & vitamins A & E, a powerhouse for sure!

Consuming healthy fats – Healthy fats like extra-virgin olive oil(EVOO), avocado and avocado oil, coconut oil, olives, nuts, seeds, & fatty fish all provide protective benefits from oxidative stress.

In one study EVOO was found to prevent oxidative stress compared to corn oil, which ironically actually increased the oxidative stress.  Another study was able to show the combo of Omega-3 with Phosphatidylserine to exert stress-buffering effects.

Adding foods that are nutrient dense in healthy fats can quickly alter the effects of living a stressful life.  Try our recipe of adding extra-virgin olive oil salad dressing with mixed greens.

These are two quick and easy ways to support your brain health and help combat the negative affects of stress.