10 Best Foods Series: The 10 Best Foods To Reduce Stress And Achieve Inner Calmness

This is the first in a series of articles entitled The 10 Best Foods.

In this series, I will cover the 10 best foods that can help improve a part of our lives. If these recommended foods are used regularly, your health, beauty and mood will dramatically improve. So get started.

In this article I will cover the 10 best foods to reduce stress and achieve inner peace. These foods are foods that will help you relax, relieve the stress of damage to your body and will put you in a relaxed mood to help you cope better with the challenges of your life.

The foods we choose to affect our mental health because of their nutrient composition bring about chemical changes in our body that affect our brain (chemically and physiologically), and in turn, affect our behavior.

When foods high in natural carbohydrates without the presence of protein or animal fat are consumed, they allow tryptophan amino acids to flood our brain. Tryptophan is known to have an effect on mood, memory, and friendliness. Tryptophan metabolites include serotonin, a neurotransmitter that improves mood and reduces stress and food cravings. (1) Serotonin plays a role, not only in reducing stress and depression but also reducing susceptibility to stress and depression. (2) Serotonin also helps you tolerate pain and sleep longer and better. And all this happens quickly after eating the right foods.

Stress reduction is important because of direct involvement in one of the world's largest sources of death, coronary heart disease (CHD) (3)

Serotonin is associated with physical health and a positive mood (4) which reduces stress and is an important predictor of health and longevity. (5)

Studies have reported a positive relationship between tryptophan-rich food intake and homicide rates (6) and a negative relationship between tryptophan diet and suicide rates. (7) Demonstrate the possibility of improving the mental health of the population by increasing tryptophan intake. However, tryptophan-rich foods are not enough to withstand stress and improve our mood. Tryptophan is the least amino acid and therefore, in protein rich foods, tryptophan is the last amino acid to cross the blood brain barrier. It will have to wait its turn after the more common amino acids. On the other hand, evidence shows that eating a carbohydrate-rich diet with enough protein increases the brain's tryptophan because when carbohydrate-rich foods are consumed, the body releases insulin, which transfers other amino acids to the muscle but leaves tryptophan untouched. This provides a better basis for tryptophan to enter the brain and promote a calming effect.

So which foods have a calming effect on serotonin and help reduce stress?

Here are 10 key foods that reduce stress and soothe us:

Bananas are great for reducing stress because of the high content of serotonin and carbohydrates.

Oats are great for the same reason. They have 120% recommended daily intake (DRI) of tryptophan and are rich in carbohydrates.

Vitamin B6 is also involved in serotonin production. Pressure lowers B6. Foods rich in tryptophan and B6 are great for reducing stress and include:

Spirulina has 300% DRI of tryptophan and 21% DRI of B6

Spinach has 250% DRI tryptophan and 26% DRI from B6

Sesame seeds have 240% DRI tryptophan and 20% DRI B6

Sunflower seeds contain 20% DRI tryptophan and 28% DRI B6

Soy beans have 205% DRI tryptophan and 21% DRI B6. Mushrooms have 150% DRI tryptophan and are rich in carbohydrates

Broccoli has 140% DRI tryptophan and 20% DRI from B6

Lentils have 56% DRI tryptophan and 21% DRI from B6

To Simplify:

The 10 best foods to reduce stress and improve mood are:

Banana
Oats
Spirulina
Spinach
sesame seeds
Sunflower seed
Soy bean
Mushrooms
Broccoli
Lentils

So try not to get quick fixes like coffee, or foods rich in fat or sugar. Although carbohydrate-rich foods and sugars increase the release of serotonin in the body, the spike is prolonged, resulting in more appetite and more use of food to stimulate more.

At the end of the day, you will have a good mood throughout the day but most days will be high stress and anxiety and rich in calorie intake. Chocolate also provides early sugar and an increase in caffeine. Caffeine increases your adrenaline output so you are more stressed than before. Alcohol can make you feel better now, but it can also interfere with your sleep patterns, resulting in more stress. Salty foods clean the body and brain and increase stress and fatigue.

So, if you want to reduce stress, include 10 recommended foods daily in your diet and drink more water. Water hydrates every part of the body and the brain and will help you relax in a bad situation.

By adopting healthier alternatives, you will feel healthier and less likely to have unhealthy foods, bad taste such as coffee, chocolate, alcohol and salt.

References:

(1) Young SN, Gauthier S. Effect of tryptophan administration on tryptophan, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and indoleacetic acid in human lumbar and cisternal cerebrospinal fluid. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1981 Apr; 44 (4): 323--8.

(2) Simon N. Young. How to increase serotonin in the human brain without medication. J Neurosci Psychiatry. 2007; 32 (6): 394-399.PMCID: PMC2077351

(3) Miller TQ, Smith TW, Turner CW, Guijarro ML, Hallet AJ. A meta-analytic study of research on hostility and physical health. Psychol Bull. 1996; 119 (2): 322-48.

(4) Rot M, Moskowitz DS, Pinard G, Young SN Social behavior and mood in daily life: effects of tryptophan in striated individuals. J Neurosci Psychiatry. 2006 Jul; 31 (4): 253-62.

(5) The World Health Organization. Constitution of the World Health Organization. In: Basic documents, forty-five editions, additional. 2006.

(6) Mawson AR, Jacobs KW. Use of corn, tryptophan, and homicide rates. J Orthomolec Psychiatry 1978; 7: 227-30.

(7) Voracek M, Tran AS. Tryptophan diet and suicide rates in industrialized countries. J Affects Disruptions. 2007 March; 98 (3): 259-62.

------------------