It’s been a challenging year for many Canadians. With the rising cost of living, ongoing global unrest, climate-related events, and a shifting job market, stress has become a common part of daily life. Add to that the pressure of navigating family responsibilities, work demands, and uncertainty about the future, and it’s easy to see why so many of us are feeling overwhelmed.
In times like these, understanding the root causes of stress—and how nutrition can play a role in managing it—can offer a sense of control and support when we need it most.
Stress Hormones
Stress means different things to different people and we all handle the problem in different ways. But there’s an underlying culprit to blame: stress hormones.
Not only do stress hormones affect overall appetite and appetite swings, they can also increase our desire for foods high in sugar, fat or both. And they can also trigger another enemy: the stress response.
The Stress Response Defined
Harvard Health Publishing has written a helpful explanation of this syndrome, which can potentially affect us all – young or old. They explain:
“A stressful situation – whether something environmental, such as a looming work deadline, or psychological, such as persistent worry about losing a job – can trigger a cascade of stress hormones that produce well-orchestrated physiological changes.
This combination of reactions to stress is also known as the ‘fight-or-flight’ response because it evolved as a survival mechanism, enabling people and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations.”
Fight-or-Flight Response
The fight or flight response precipitates a deluge of hormones – particularly adrenaline and cortisol – that cause an elevated heart rate, increase in blood pressure and a quickening of breath.
None of us wants to have to deal with any of these things, particularly as we age. The good news is that certain nutrient-rich foods are proven to help us all handle stress.
Leslie Beck, a leading Canadian nutritionist, writing in The Globe and Mail offers a fabulously detailed analysis of the nutrient rich foods that can help us manage stress. Her account is quite technical in parts, so we’ve edited out the material about amino acids, neurotransmitters and the adrenal glands in favour of a simplified list of recommended foods by category:
Carbohydrates
Ideal foods in this category include whole grains (e.g., oatmeal, brown rice, farro, freekeh, whole wheat pasta), beans and lentils, sweet potato, butternut squash, turnip, carrots and whole fruit.
B Vitamins
B vitamins occur in a wide range of foods, including enriched breakfast cereals, whole grains, meat, fish, poultry, nuts, seeds and dark green vegetables. Milk, salmon, tuna, chickpeas, bananas and potatoes are good sources of B6.
Vitamin C
Outstanding sources of this vitamin include citrus fruit, kiwifruit, strawberries, mango, cantaloupe, pineapple, red and green bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and tomato juice.
Magnesium
Pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, quinoa, almonds, cashews, peanuts, cooked spinach, Swiss chard, black beans, lentils, soymilk and edamame are excellent sources of magnesium.
Omega-3 Fats
Ms. Beck recommends the inclusion of fatty fish such as salmon, trout, Arctic char and sardines in your diet at least twice a week. If you don’t eat fish, consider taking a fish oil supplement or a DHA supplement made from algae.
Take Your Vitamins & Minerals
Observes Ms. Beck: “Eating a variety of foods each day will help you consume a wide range of stress-supportive nutrients. A daily multivitamin and mineral supplement can also help meet nutrient needs, especially if stress has diminished your appetite.”
And as well, they’ll also contribute to the efficiency of your body’s overall immune system.