Foods that help with stress eating – 5 Best Foods That Calm Nerves And Relieve Anxiety

Foods that help with stress eating?

5 Best Foods That Calm Nerves

Have you heard of stress eating? That’s usually when someone ends up gorging on unhealthy comfort food to try and make themselves feel better. Mindful eating and regular practice of yoga are ways to stop stress eating. Yoga builds the necessary power to our body and mind so that we can easily maintain balance. Check out the yoga asanas in ‘How to stop stress eating‘. Read on to find out what they are and see how foods that calm nerves work for stress eating.

Stress and boredom as two main drivers of emotional eating. Eating gives us something to do. It fills our time, and gives us a way to procrastinate. We often use eating to mark time — lunch, for instance, can provide a break from a dragging workday. So we come to associate eating with relief or even excitement and it’s only natural that we’d reach for those same feelings when we’re worried or sad. Events don’t have a meaning; we give them meaning.

The meaning of eating is:

  • ‘I’m going to be happy.
  • I’m not going to be in emotional discomfort.
  • I’ll have this wonderful experience.

What Causes Stress Eating?

The 3 big hormones that cause stress eating.

Cortisol

Cortisol is our main stress hormone, triggering our fight-or-flight instinct. It also regulates how our bodies use carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. So if we’re stressed or anxious and cortisol kicks in, that can make us want to carbo-load. When we are stressed, our bodies are flooded with cortisol which makes us crave sugary, fatty, salty foods.

Dopamine:

Dopamine, is a neurotransmitter associated with learning about rewards. It kicks into gear at the promise that something positive is about to happen, like eating the food you love. The comfort foods we turn to because they taste so good give us a surge of dopamine and we look for that high again and again.

There’s research that says even anticipating eating certain foods generates dopamine/ “the anticipation molecule” and it’s released when we know we’re about to experience something pleasurable and You don’t even have to be eating to generate dopamine.

Serotonin:

The happy chemical, when drops to low levels can be linked to depression. A hormone and neurotransmitter, serotonin isn’t in food – but an amino acid tryptophan is necessary to produce serotonin. tryptophan is also found in cheese and that could be why grilled cheese sandwiches are comfort foods. Carbs can also boost serotonin levels, which can improve your mood, and chocolate, too, is linked to a serotonin spike.

Eating can be a convenient distraction from emotions

– But that’s not a good idea. There’s a science behind emotional eating and comfort food – the factors that cause cravings and the ways that giving in to those cravings affect us.

5 Best Foods That Calm Nerves And Relieve Anxiety Instantly – How to overcome stress eating?

The immediate solution, eating, can’t be avoided. After digging around a little to see if there’s a healthier version of stress eating, we found the perfect list of foods that calm nerves and can help you take control of your feelings of stress and anxiety.

Oranges:

1. oranges - foods that calm nerves

This little citric fruit is full of vitamin C which helps lower blood pressure and keeps the levels of cortisol under check. So, chug down a glass of fresh orange juice, or chomp down on the slices and relieve your anxiety.

Dark Chocolate:

Dark chocolate contains serotonin that calm nerves

Dark chocolate helps curb anxiety as it contains flavonoids, a stress-reducing plant chemical can help with the functioning of the brain. It also contains serotonin which is a neurotransmitter and which influences the mood. Hence, eating dark chocolate improves the blood flow to the brain, which enhances its ability to handle stress and anxiety.

Chamomile Tea:

foods that calm nerves - 3. chamomile tea

Chamomile tea is a wonderful relaxant for the muscles and the mind. It also releases calming hormones in the system which helps you unwind and feel more at ease. Incorporate a cup of chamomile tea into your daily diet to reap its longterm benefits.

Asparagus:

5 best foods that calm nerves and relieve anxiety instantly

Studies have found that feelings of anxiety and depression are triggered when you’re experiencing a drop in the levels of folic acid in the body. Asparagus can help you in regaining tackling the issue. So, go on, just sauté, steam or grill up some asparagus along with your meal, and have a serving of good health.

Yogurt:

Healthy foods list for stress eating

Yogurt is an excellent food item that can help tackle anxiety. Evidence suggests that probiotic foods like yogurt can help improve the functioning of the brain and promotes mental health. It also prevents neurotoxins and free radicals from damaging nerve tissues in the brain and thus controls anxiety. Therefore, consuming probiotic yogurt on a daily basis will help you manage stress.

While these foods help you deal with feelings of anxiety and stress and allow you to calm the mind, they should not be considered as a treatment for anxiety.

This connection is also relevant when it comes to another kind of emotional eating: ‘Happy Eating.’ Think about how you celebrate big achievements, special occasions, or picnics. We treat ourselves to our favorite foods to define a moment of pride or joy and we link activities like going to a movie with indulging in a tub of popcorn.

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