Stress can almost turn you into a different person. It brings down your productivity, ruins your personal relationships, and makes you unhappier as a person. With stress out of your life, every day can seem like a blessing, an opportunity to succeed and give you satisfaction of a fulfilled life. Stress can accumulate over a period of time and before you know it becomes chronic and manifests into diseases that further lower quality of your life. Getting out of the stress trap can lead you towards a better life. Some amount of stress can be useful for you to for reacting effectively in stressful situations, it is the unmanaged one that brings trouble for you. (Also read: Yoga expert on early morning rituals to reduce stress and boost happiness)
“Stress today is imperative, a significant part of each one’s life. And that is unavoidable. But how we react to stress is what matters and is fortunately in our hands. This decides how stress could impact our health,” renowned nutritionist Anupama Menon in an interaction with HT Digital.
Menon explaining the anatomy of stress, reveals: “The adrenal glands located just above the kidney produce the stress hormone, cortisol and the hormone that represents the fountain of youth, DHEA. These two hormones have a relevant impact on each other. Balancing them is key in being able to ensure that the release of cortisol is just enough for one to react effectively in stressful situations. Peaking cortisol levels through the day sparked by high stress working environment, an anxious nature, poor sleep and eating habits reduce levels of DHEA causing undesirable effects on health,” she says.
SIMPLE METHODS TO MANAGE YOUR STRESS
BETTER
“Ensuring you get your complete requirement of sleep, getting to bed and waking up at the same time at least 5 days a week is important. Weekends, spared! Sleep heals like no other. Sleep repairs the exhausted tissue, reduces risk of inflammation and lends the body the much needed cell regeneration,” says Anupama Menon highlighting the importance of sleep in overall health.
“Meditation and slow breathing practices. Even your breath which believe it or not calms one down and leaves you in a position to take better decisions, regulates your temperament and renders patience. This helps to arrive at better solutions, thus managing stress better,” adds Menon sharing some effective tips to beat stress.
Menon further shares useful tips for beating stress, improving sleep and boosting brain health with us.
EAT PROTEIN IN BREAKFAST, CARB FOR DINNER
“Ensuring you get your complete requirement of sleep, getting to bed and waking up at the same time at least 5 days a week is important. Weekends, spared! Sleep heals like no other. Sleep repairs the exhausted tissue, reduces risk of inflammation and lends the body the much needed cell regeneration,” says Anupama Menon highlighting the importance of sleep in overall health.
“Meditation and slow breathing practices. Even your breath which believe it or not calms one down and leaves you in a position to take better decisions, regulates your temperament and renders patience. This helps to arrive at better solutions, thus managing stress better,” adds Menon sharing some effective tips to beat stress.
Menon further shares useful tips for beating stress, improving sleep and boosting brain health with us.
INCLUDE GOOD FATS FOR BOOSTING BRAIN FUNCTION
Including good fats like omega (walnuts, flaxseeds, the right kind of supplements), ghee, butter, almonds and virgin coconut oil could help brain function better, typically landing these in the group of brain foods. And facts say, you need your brains to steady your brains.
ANTIOXIDANT FOR BRAIN
Including good fats like omega (walnuts, flaxseeds, the right kind of supplements), ghee, butter, almonds and virgin coconut oil could help brain function better, typically landing these in the group of brain foods. And facts say, you need your brains to steady your brains.
HERB FOR RELAXATION
Ashwagandha powder (5-10g) in a glass of warm milk at night before bed helps relax the stress hormones and acts like a balm to the raging body and mind. It helps better sleep and even helps pick up energy levels.
SEEDS AND NUTS FOR RELAXATION
Tryptophan is an amino acid present typically in peanuts, cheese, milk, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. A serving of any one of these could be the equivalent of a lullaby – helps one fall asleep faster and if you are an early dinner person, takes the edge off of hunger before you go to bed.
CHAMOMILE TEA
Chamomile tea is the tea made from the extracts of the chamomile flower. A luxurious, calming, non-caffeinated tea that elevates your ability to sleep with an antioxidant apigenin that binds to sleep welcoming receptors in the brain.
WHAT TO EAT FROM MORNING TO EVENING TO BEAT STRESS
BREAKFAST
All kinds of proteins could be used for the morning breakfast including eggs, yoghurt and nut based smoothies (with fruit, preferably berries), dal dosas, warm lean meat chicken salad, avocado with eggs and cheese, spouted moong flour dosas, etc.
LUNCH
For the lunch, a single serving of whole grain carbs like 1 phulka or ½ cup rice/millet or ½ cup quinoa/amaranth with double the amount of protein (1 cup dal/legumes/2 eggs/125-150g chicken or fish/100g panir or tofu) with a serving of vegetable would be just right.
DINNER
And for dinner just a bowl of broken wheat/rice kanji/2 phulkas or millet rotis/1 cup of pulav with a serving or 2 vegetable would effect a much needed calming of the cortisol hormone.
A warm glass of milk/buttermilk before bed may also weave in the final trick of putting the light bulb out.
CURBING CRAVINGS
Stress tends to make us reach out to sweets or even excess food for no fault of ours. It’s our brain messaging a falsified need for fuel. To break this, ensure you eat enough (enough, not too much), at the right times. Drink enough water in between meals and allow yourself about 15g dark chocolate daily.
“Good nutrition is key in managing stress. It’s also about what you tell yourself and how you allow yourself to react. A powerful morning routine encompassing meditation, exercise and a shot of powerful micronutrients will go a long way in deciding how your day pans out. A day at a time taken in awareness of self, a positive outlook, in discipline will regulate stress levels and form that filtered insulation between your body and the environment,” concluded Anupama Menon.
