& what nutrients can help our body deal with stress

From a registered dietitian and weight loss coach

Stress & Eating

What you eat has a much larger impact on your stress levels than you might expect, and your stress can determine what your food choices end up being.

This is a vicious cycle that starts with focusing on proper nutrition to fuel your body.

Feeding Emotions with Unhealthy Foods

One of my favorite phrases - “If food isn’t the problem, then it won’t be the solution”. Eating from stress often only makes the problem worse. Now, added to the stress of the situation is guilt, indigestion, bloating, trouble sleeping and possible sugar highs and lows. 

Before stress eating, do something else for 5 minutes. Ideally move your body and leave the room. Walk around the block if you can, do some quick yoga or jumping jacks or dancing. Breathe deeply if you can’t leave the room and go do something else.

Then having a nourishing meal. Ideally - have something already prepared in your fridge or freezer. A backup meal, as it were. 

I recommend something comforting but also balanced. For me, that’s instant mashed potatoes, chicken, gravy and frozen corn. A KFC bowl made at home! I also find the act of making the mashed potatoes even though they are instant there's some oomph there in stirring that helps with stress.

Deal With the Source of the Stress if Possible

Depending on the situation, this is of course easier said than done. But taking a step back to assess the situation can help. 

This could just be writing down what you will do, or talking it out with a loved one. Taking this action can help organize your thoughts and give perspective. 

Sometimes time will solve the issue. If it will - distract yourself with something else like a book, videogame, workout, call with a friend, etc.

Don’t Restrict – Add More Nutrients

Remember that when thinking about eating healthier doesn’t mean to eat less or to lose weight. It is a matter of focusing on more of a balance of nutrients. 

So, if you have been eating pasta for dinner, go ahead and keep eating your pasta, but maybe add some ground beef and broccoli to your dish. You may find that you don’t want as many noodles when you have more variety and nutrients on your plate!

Eat Slower

Take a breather. Use this as a time to relax. Give yourself the time to eat. If you can, get the whole family involved in this!

• Eat off a plate, at the table, with no TV on (music/radio is fine, but no news!)

• Set a 20 minute timer. Take at least that entire time to eat your food. Then, if you want more, set it again and wait out the timer before going for seconds

• Drink a glass of water before your meal

• Always eat a vegetable with a meal. And eat it first before the rest of the meal (they taste better at the start than they do at the end)

• Eat with chopsticks if you have trouble taking smaller bites (children's forks/spoons are also good for this)

Use heavier utensils. This actually has been shown to make people more satisfied with their meal.

The Importance of Nutrients

The reason that you hear people say to “eat the rainbow” is that different foods have different nutrients! Here are some nutrients that are helpful with stress, depression, general mood and well being. 

Folate - Did you know that a folate deficiency can worsen depression? You get folate from foods like eggs, asparagus, legumes, spinach, and avocado. 
Fiber – For more fiber, eating more fruit, vegetables, and whole grains is usually a good place to start. You want to aim for 20-30g per day of fiber. Getting fiber from supplements is likely not the same as eating it in foods though!

Omega 3 fatty acids – Healthy fats are important! You can get your fatty acids from healthy sources of fats like salmon, tuna, walnuts, flax and olive oil.

 
A supplement may also be helpful as it can be hard to get enough from food alone - this is one I recommend. If you are vegetarian, get a Kelp based supplement.

Iron – You also want to make sure you have enough iron. Iron can help with your mental health, as well as balancing your energy levels. Get iron from red meat, turkey, some nuts and seeds like pumpkin seeds and almonds, broccoli, and dark chocolate. 

To maximize absorption, take iron away from calcium and with vitamin C. This is especially important if you are supplementing with iron. 

One thing I recommend is to take an iron supplement during menstruation or any time you have high blood loss or injury (such as heavy bruising, a muscle pull etc). Here’s my personal favorite

Protein – You get protein from many of these same foods, including meat, poultry and fish, dairy, cheese, eggs, tofu, legumes and even vegetables like mushrooms and broccoli!

Vitamin D – Do you know why you feel more energized and happier during sunny days? It is (at least partly) the vitamin D from the sun’s UV rays. 

I recommend supplementing vitamin D between October and April if you live in the northern part of the US (although even in southern parts of the country a small dose is still a good idea). I would take between 2000-5000 IU per day, unless you have been tested as deficient in vitamin D in which case you should take more according to doctor recommendations.

Vitamin D is hard to get in the diet, and historically has come from wild fish, mushrooms, and being outside all day in the summer. But that’s just not reality for most people now. In addition - sunscreen nearly completely blocks vitamin D absorption. So in this case, I recommend getting it through a supplement like this one.

Magnesium: Magnesium is needed for a variety of tasks such as muscle relaxation, fatty acid formation, making new cells and heartbeat regulation. Stress and magnesium are said to be interrelated

Magnesium is found in beans, lentils, nuts, spinach oatmeal, and fish like halibut. If you choose to supplement, get Magnesium Glycinate - most of the others aren’t as well absorbed and are better for helping with constipation than stress.

Vitamin C: Both emotional and physical stress may affect a person's Vitamin C status. When stress depletes vitamin C levels in the body, it reduces the body's resistance to infection and disease and increases the likelihood of further stress.

Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits, guava, peaches, kiwi, cantaloupe, red pepper, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, and cauliflower.

PS: Here’s some Grab N’ Go Healthy Snacks for those stressful days and you can learn more about the importance of vitamin D (and how to get more of it), HERE!