Stress: The Best Way to Manage it is Through Your Diet!

Who doesn't want to beat stress? Actually managing stress is essential for your overall health. Stress can increase the risk of heart attack and other health conditions.

When it comes to foods, stress management becomes much easier. But some foods also can increase your stress levels. So you should be a little smarter in choosing foods.

Actually managing stress with methods like nutritious diet and breathing exercises are very easy, cost effective and efficient.

The solution? Before you know the food-based solutions, you need to know what hormones are responsive for your stress levels.

Hormones and neurotransmitters that affect your stress levels

A number of hormones are in charge of adding fuel to the fire behind both physical and mental reactions to stress. Such hormones include Adrenaline, Norepinephrine, Serotonin, and Cortisol.

Serotonin

A brain chemical, serotonin plays an important role in your mental and emotional health.

Serotonin influences your brain cells. And lack of serotonin is linked with depression, anxiety, panic and anger problems. Serotonin levels can be increased by foods!

Adrenaline

Also known as the fight or flight hormone, adrenaline is produced by the adrenal glands after receiving a message from your brain that a stressful situation has happened.

Both adrenaline and norepinephrine increase your stress levels, heat rate, and surge of energy to run away from the dangerous situation. 

Cortisol

Adrenal glands release a surge of cortisol in response to stressful situations. This hormone increases your feelings of stress as well as blood sugar levels. Cortisol also negatively influences your immune and digestive systems.

 How to fight against stress with foods

Foods can help manage stress in a number of ways. Vitamin C, carbs, amino acid, vitamin B, tryptophan, and Omega-3 fatty acids in foods are nice in term of stress management.

These nutrients help cut stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline while increase useful brain chemical serotonin.

Fatty fish

Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines and tuna are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Studies have shown that omega 3 fats improve ability to manage stress and boost your mood.

Eating fatty fish you can prevent surges in stress hormones and protect against heart disease, depression, and other health conditions.

What is the recommended amount of fish to eat?

It is recommended that you should aim to eat 3 ounces of fatty fish twice a week to control stress as well as heart health.

Fresh fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C

Vitamin C helps you lower cortisol, blood pressure, and effects of stress.

Studies on both man and rats showed that vitamin C is effective in stress hormones like cortisol.

How much vitamin C you need

For adults, the recommended dose is 65 to 90 mg a day, and upper limit is 2,000 mg a day. Children aged 1 day to 8 year need 15 to 50 mg vitamin C daily.

Best sources of vitamin C

Following are among the foods that contain good amount of vitamin C:

• Peppers (Yellow Bell Peppers) - Per large pepper (186g) contains 341.3mg (569% DV)
• Guavas - Per fruit (55g) contains 125.6mg (209% DV)
• Dark Green Leafy Vegetables (Kale) - Per cup chopped (67g) contains 80.4mg (134% DV)
• Kiwifruit (Green) - Per fruit (69g) contains 64mg (107% DV)
• Tomatoes (Cooked) - Per 2 tomatoes (246g) contains 56.1mg (93% DV)
• Citrus Fruits (Oranges) - Per orange (131g) contains 69.7mg (116% DV)

Green tea for stress management

Green tea contains an amino acid called l-theanine that can increase serotonin and dopamine levels.

A recent study consisting of 42,093 Japanese people found that about 6.6% were victim of psychological stress. But stress levels were significantly lower among the green tea drinkers.

The polyphenols in green tea have anti-depressant like effects that help decrease stress and boost mood.

Tryptophan rich foods

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid which is converted into vitamin B3 and serotonin. As I mentioned earlier, serotonin aids in the regulation of stress, anger, aggression, mood and sleep.

A study has shown that people who consume tryptophan become much more pleasant and agreeable.

Best sources of tryptophan

High tryptophan foods include as following:

• Seeds & Nuts (Pumpkin & Squash Seeds) - Per ounce (28g) contains 161mg (58% RDI)
• Soya Foods (Soybeans, roasted) - Per ounce (28g) contains 161mg (57% RDI)
• Chicken & Turkey (Chicken Breast, cooked) - Per 3oz (85g) contains 343mg (123% RDI)
• Fish (Tuna, cooked) - Per ounce (28g) contains 95mg (34% RDI)
• Beans & Lentils (White Beans, cooked) - Per tablespoon (11g) contains 13mg (5% RDI)
• Eggs (Whole) - Per egg (50g) contains 84mg (30% RDI)

The recommended doses

You should take 4mg per kilogram of body weight.

Avocados for stress management

Avocados contain good amount of potassium and vitamin B. Potassium is great when it comes to controlling blood pressure and mood. 

And vitamin B is essential for healthy nerves and brain cells, vitamin B deficiency may leads to feelings of anxiety.

Half an avocado gives you more potassium than a banana. One avocado contains 30% of your recommended daily potassium intake.

Almonds to reduce stress

Vitamin E and B are rich in almonds. Both of the nutrients are helpful for managing stress.

Just a quarter cup of almonds intake every day is enough to boost your immune system during times of stress.

Foods to avoid to control stress

Caffeine: caffeine can increase stress hormone like cortisol in your body. Drinking a lot of coffee can increase your stress levels. Moreover, caffeine can cause sleeping problems.

High-fat foods: fatty foods such as meat or cheese thicken your blood which in turn makes you feel tired and lethargic. And this is a hinder to reduce stress. Moreover, high-fat meal can increase your risk of heart attack.

Sugar: carbohydrate is essential for brain to make more serotonin. But simple carbohydrate like sugar is not a good choice when it comes to stress management as it can make symptoms of stress worse.

On the other hand, complex carbs from foods such as pastas, beans, and whole-grain breads are definitely a good choice.

Conclusion

Fresh foods are essential for stress management but there are some other things you should care about.

You should change your lifestyle like doing regular physical exercises, having sound sleep, and taking some sun. 

Calories: The Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate Ratio for Weight Loss

When it comes to calories, take the right combination of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Consuming balanced calories can help you maintain a healthy weight, boost you energy levels, and increase your metabolism.

The more calories you consume, the more weight you gain. And the less calories you take, the less weight you gain. This is generally a very simple equation. But you need to ensure if you are eating sufficient amount of protein, carbs, or fat to maintain good health.

For a healthy and sustainable weight loss plan, you have to know what the minimum amount of mega-nutrients required in your foods.

How much calories you need

To maintain a healthy weight man should take 2,000 to 3,000 calories and women should take 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day.

According to U.S Department of Health and Human Services, to lose weight safely and effectively man and women should take 1,2oo to 1,600 calories per day -TWEET IT.

How much carbohydrate you need

It is good to take 45% to 65% of calories from carbohydrate. But if you want to lose weight, you can consume calories from carbs at 40 percent.

So if you are planning to consume 1,600 calories to lose weight, you need to take 640 calories from carbohydrate that is 160 g of carbs since 1 g carbs = 4 calories.

You also need to choose whole grain and fruits as carbs over candy and other sweetened foods. Because they are healthier choices for your overall health.

How much protein you need as source of calories

High protein and low carbs, low fat diet is often prescribed as weight loss meal plan. But what are the upper and lower ranges of protein intake? How much protein you should take?

Experts suggest that the healthy range of protein intake is 10 percent to 35 percent. There are a number of health benefits of taking a high amount of protein-rich meal, including fullness that lowers craving for foods. It is not bad to increase protein intake a bit like to 40 percent.

So in a 1,600 caloric meal plan, you need to take 640 calories (1,600/40%) from protein that is 160 g protein since 1 g protein = 4 calories.

How much fat you need for you calories

You may think that to lose weight you should stop taking fat totally. That is absolutely wrong.

Fat is also an important part of your diet. Fat contain some important vitamins like vitamins A, D, E, and K.

So take fat from healthier sources like nuts, fish, and vegetables oils. Try to avoid taking fat from foods like high-fat meats and full-fat dairy products to lose weight as well as lower your risk of heart diseases.

You can take 20 percent to 35 percent of calories from fat for good health. So in the case of a 1,600 caloric meal plan, you need to take 320 calories (1,600/20%) from fat. And that is 36 g fat since 1 g fat = 9 calories.

Conclusion

Though it is not easy to calculate calories every day, you can do it sometimes and will be able to maintain the carbs, protein, and fat ratio.

And to calculate calories you can use free tools like myfitnesspal. 

One important point is that don't decrease your caloric intake very much like crash diet. Because crash diet has many negative health consequences.

Antioxidants: Everything You Need to Know to Fight Against Diseases (with picture)

Antioxidants exist in foods in forms vitamin, minerals, and other compounds. They are important for your health in terms of preventing diseases, reducing effects of aging, and boosting your immune health.

There are thousands of antioxidants compound out there, but the most common ones are as following:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin C
• Beta-carotene
• Lutein
• Lycopene
• Manganese

Also Read: Vitamin D: Everything You Need to Know to Live Healthy

Why you need antioxidants

Studies show that foods rich in antioxidants are associated with longevity and good health. Antioxidants can help your body fight against diseases (TWEET IT). The most important roles of antioxidants are as below:

Neutralizing the effects of free radicals

Oxygen and sun are must for your body. But when your body uses oxygen, get exposure to UV rays, smoke, and other radiation, reactive oxygen species (ROS), also known as free radicals, are produced in your body. Free radicals are bad for your health because they can damage your healthy cells.

Reducing aging effects

As you get older, your skin starts to degrade. It loses its elasticity and thin out. But there are some conditions that can accelerate your skin’s aging. The main culprit for premature skin aging is free radicals.

And when it comes to skin health antioxidants are supreme. If you take antioxidant rich foods regularly, you can reduce aging effects as well as risk of skin cancer.

Preventing cardiac disease

Oxidation, the addition of oxygen to low-density lipoproteins, leads to the build-up of fatty plaque in artery walls, which can block blood flow to the heart.

A study shows that those who consume high amounts of fruits and vegetables have lower rates of heart disease and stroke. And this is mainly for the role of antioxidants. Nuts are also good for cardiovascular health.

Antioxidants also repair the innermost layer of the arteries, which lower the risk of heart attacks. So foods that are rich in antioxidants should be in your everyday diets.

Reducing the risk of cancer

Studies have showed that free radical damage is associated with cancer development. But antioxidants can help your body prevents cancer development.

Research data also indicate that if cancer cell is developed in one’s body, then antioxidants can accelerate cancer’s spread.

Boosting immune system

As you know that a healthy immune system help you defense against germs. Good immune system helps your body prevent infection and various types of diseases.

But how will you boost your immune system?

Fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants are in the rescue. Antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E increase the production of white blood cells, natural killer cells, and antibodies.

Taking sufficient amount of antioxidants you can decrease incidence of some preventive health problems including cancer as well as flus and colds.

How much antioxidants you need

There is really no recommended daily amounts for antioxidants. But experts suggest that you consume a varied diet with at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day and 6-11 portions of grains per day. 

You should take antioxidants from foods. And you should avoid supplements.

But you should take certain antioxidants as the following amounts:

Vitamin A: men need 3,000 IU, women need 2,300 IU, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers need 2,500 IU and 4,300 IU, respectively. And children aged 1-3 years need 1, 000 IU while children aged 4 years and above need 1,300 IU.

Vitamin C: for adults, the recommended dose is 65 to 90 mg a day, and upper limit is 2,000 mg a day. Children aged 1 day to 8 year need 15 to 50 mg vitamin C daily.

Vitamin E: recommended daily allowance of vitamin E for children aged 1-3 years is 6 units, 4-8 years is 7 units, 9-13 years is 11 units, and 13 years and older is 15 units.

Best sources of antioxidants

When it comes to sources of antioxidants, your everyday diet comes first. You should choose foods over supplements.

Here are some of my top recommendations:

Tomatoes

Tomatoes have numerous health benefits including improved eye sight, reduced blood pressure, relief from diabetes, skin problems, decrease cholesterol levels, prevent aging, and reduce risk of cancer.

Most important antioxidants of tomatoes include vitamin A, vitamin c, and lycopene.

Berries

Berries contains phytonutrient called ellegic acid. Studies have shown that people who take foods high in ellagic acid are three times less likely to develop cancer as compared to those who don’t consume enough ellagic acid.

And other antioxidants in berries can help you fight against cancer and chronic diseases. Major nutrients of berries include vitamin C, vitamin A, Folate, Flavonoids, and Ellagenic acid.

The most antioxidant-rich berries include blueberries and strawberries.

Kidney beans

Kidney beans are rich in many essential nutrients including antioxidants. If you eat beans, you can lower the risk of colon cancer, reduce blood cholesterol, and control blood sugar levels.

One-half cup of kidney beans contains around 13,000 antioxidants. And the good news is that bean is available throughout the year.

Kale

Kale is an antioxidant-rich-food. It has great amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, lutein, flavonoids, and beta-carotene.

One cup of the veggie has 206% of your daily recommended dose of vitamin A and 134% of your daily recommended dose of vitamin C.

Studies have shown the contribution of kale in lowering the risk of various types of cancer including cancer of bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate.

Walnuts

 

Walnuts are best-known for their contribution to brain health. But they are also great when it comes to antioxidants.

Just one ounce of walnuts is loaded with sufficient amount of antioxidants good at fighting free radicals.

A study reported that walnuts have higher quality of antioxidants than other nuts. Walnuts hold the largest amounts of antioxidants, as compared to other nuts. The study suggests that these fruits can lower cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other free-radical-based diseases.

Coffee

Coffee is a good source of disease-fighting antioxidants. It can reduce the risk of cancer, type 2 diabetes, and Parkinson’s diseases.

Coffee has more antioxidant activity than green tea and cocoa. Scientists have identified about 1,000 antioxidants in coffee beans. It is estimated that American adults consume about 1,200 milligrams of antioxidants daily from coffee.

Barley

One great source of antioxidants is barley which contains beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and the enzyme SOD.

Eggs

Eggs are also loaded with the amazing nutrients. A study shows that a single egg contains at least twice as many antioxidant properties as an apple.

Antioxidants in eggs can reduce heart diseases.

Conclusion

Among the all good news, there is a bad news. And the bad news is that if you have not a healthy lifestyle, you will not be benefited by antioxidants foods well. 

So the solution is that you should reduce the intake of sugar, do regular exercise, manage stress, avoid smoking, and get enough sleep to get help from antioxidants.


Do you have any query regarding this article? If one, let me know in the comment.

Vitamin D: Everything You Need to Know to Live Healthy

When it comes to vitamin D, you need to know a lot about it. This nutrient is a fat-soluble vitamin that can affect about 2,000 genes in your body. It is also known as “sunshine vitamin” as it’s produced in your skin in response to sunlight.

This vitamin has several important functions in your body. One of the most important role it plays is in the absorption of calcium and phosphorous, keeping your bones and teeth healthy, letting your immune system function well, and helping in resistance against some diseases like osteoporosis (fragile bones).

What Roles vitamin D plays

The main functions of vitamin D are as following:

• Maintains skeletal and dental health 
• Keeps your nervous system functional
• Helps immune system work properly 
• Improves mental and brain health 
• Maintains good metabolic health
• May prevent cancer, heart disease, and other diseases

Results of  Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency is a very common health problem in developed countries including the USA. Many people think that their everyday foods contain enough vitamin D to avoid deficiency. But they are really wrong and actually suffer from deficiency as foods contain very little amount of this nutrient.

How your will know if you’re vitamin D deficient? You can be sure via blood testing but there obviously a number of signs and symptoms to figure out if you are likely to deficient. Sign and symptom include:

 

•     Depression 
•     Overweight
•     Bone ache
•     Head sweating
•     Gut trouble

If you suffer from any of them, you should test your blood to know if you have vitamin D deficiency.

Following are the possible health conditions related to vitamin D deficiency:

• Osteoporosis (bone fracture)
• Autoimmune diseases
• Cardiovascular disease
• Respiratory infections and flu
• Multiple sclerosis
• Schizophrenia
• Dementia
• Fibromyalgia
• Type 2 diabetes
• Colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers

How much vitamin D you need

You blood test result disclose if you are vitamin D sufficient or deficient. And if yours is under 12 ng/mL you are deficient whereas above 20 ng/mL is considered as sufficient.

Following are the recommended amount of vitamin D intake (detailed):

• Infants (1-12 months) need 400 IU
• Children and adults (1-70) require 600 IU
• Elderly and pregnant or lactating women need 800 IU

Results of excess vitamin D intake

You may hesitate to take vitamin D thinking that it may cause toxicity. The reality is that in rare cases you may experience some problems related to this vitamin’s toxicity if you take very high dose for long time (more).

So do not think of its side effects or overdose related health problems. Just ensure that you take the sufficient amount of it.

Sources of vitamin D

Although your foods may contain some vitamin D, the best source of vitamin D is sunshine.  

Sunshine

When your skin gets exposure to UV radiation from the sun, vitamin D is formed in the skin. And sunlight is the best source of vitamin D.

But the question is – how long should you get exposure to sunshine to get the required amount of the vitamin?

This is actually a tricky question. The amount of sunshine exposure needed for adequate amount of the vitamin varies from person to person, time to time, and location to location. For example, people with darker skin need longer exposure to sun to get the same amount of vitamin D compared to white people and in winter you need to get exposure to sunshine for longer compared to in summer.

The easier answer is in winter you need to sunbathe for 30-45 minutes while in summer 10-15 minutes of sun exposure is enough. The larger part of your skin gets exposure to sunlight, the quicker you get the vitamin. And it is better to get exposure to sun in the morning while you walk.

Food sources

Very few foods contain good amount of vitamin D.

Food sources of vitamin D include:

•     Cod liver oil: 500 IU (12 mcg) in 1 teaspoon (5 g)
•     Salmon: 447 IU (11 mcg) in 85 g
•     Tuna, canned in water: 154 IU (4 mcg) in 85 g
•     Beef liver: 42 IU (1 mcg)
•     Whole egg: 41 IU (1 mcg)
•     Mushroom: 375 IU per mushroom (84 g)

And there are some good vitamin D supplements available on market. Most of the good companies supply 1 year packages with very low price. So, if you want to take supplements, you can buy it from amazon.

Conclusion

In short words, I would like to say that vitamin D is a most important nutrient that everyone need. And sunbathing is enough for most us to get the everyday required amount of the vitamin.

But if you are not able to get exposure to sunshine for adequate vitamin D, you should be a bit smart to choose your foods. And if you are deficient of vitamin D, you can take supplements.


I would like to hear feedback from you in the comment. And if you have any queries let me know.