Plant-Based Foods to Help with Your Stress
By Sara Butler
Would you believe that some plants hold the key to helping you reduce your levels of stress? It’s true! Many studies support that just being outside in your garden or in the woods can boost your mood and help to combat stress, depression, and anxiety -- but eating certain plants also help. If you feel like you’re being buried under a mountain of stress at work or at home (or both), you may want to bring some of these stress-busting plants into your life and introduce them into your diet.
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is packed with magnesium, which makes it a great source of the nutrient in your diet. Magnesium helps to support chemical reactions in your brain that can help to improve your energy levels. As a matter of fact, a deficiency in this important nutrient is found in many people with clinical depression. So try to get some in your diet!
Blue Potatoes
Blue potatoes won't make you blue, but may help ward off mood swings instead! They contain an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which helps to reduce inflammation that can ruin your mood. The skin of these potatoes also contains iodine, which can help your thyroid to function normally and keep your spirits up.
Cherry Tomatoes
Tomatoes are rich in the phytonutrient lycopene, which helps to control inflammatory compounds that can build up and lead to depression. Cherry tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, too, since they are smaller and contain more lycopene due to the smaller surface area, meaning you’ll eat more skin than a full-size tomato – and the skin is where most of the good stuff lives.
Black Eyed Peas
Would you believe that black eyed peas (the vegetable, not the band) have more folate than any other vegetable? It’s true! Folate plays a huge role in creating dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, three chemicals your brains produces that help to stabilize your mood.
Oregano
Oregano happens to be rich in quercetin, caffeic acid, and rosmarinic acid. These components all happen to combat anxiety, fatigue, and depression. So, when in doubt, you can’t go wrong with oregano! Make a nice Italian sauce with tomatoes; that'll help you to cover several bases on the road to lower stress levels.
You may already eat some of these things, but if you don't, consider expanding your dietary horizons in order to help control your stress!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.