7 Nutrients That Will Help Lower Your Stress Levels

“The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life. It’s so easy to make it complex. What’s important is leading an examined life.”- Yvon Chouinard

Before you read, take a deep breath in through your nose...and then let a slow, deep breath out through your mouth. Ahhhhhhh. Feel better? Good :) This post isn’t meant to bring you stress, but to reduce it. Let’s dive in.

Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to life experiences. Stress can be caused by average daily tasks like being stuck in traffic or arguing with a friend, or serious life events like an automobile accident or cancer diagnosis. Our bodies respond to this stress by releasing hormones that increase your heart and breathing rates and shunts blood to your muscles to help you escape from that stressful event.

It’s our body’s way of surviving a circumstance or event.  

While this is a phenomenal mechanism we possess, problems arise when our hours and days are filled with these stressful events and our bodies aren't given the opportunity to restore and rebalance. Over time, continued strain on your body from stress may contribute to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses. It puts strain on your immune system, digestive, and endocrine system (hormones), to name a few. In a nutshell – stress affects the whole body.

Don’t worry, I’m not leaving it there! 

In this article, I’m sharing 7 ways to lower your stress through nutrition by providing examples of foods and nutrients that are key in supporting your body’s functions in maintaining balance, and therefore, health. Let the good vibes roll.

Water

It most likely does not come as a surprise that water is essential for life. Water has many roles within our body including flushing toxins, cushioning bones and joints, hydrating our cells, improving oxygen delivery to cells, and transporting nutrients. Filtered water and adding in electrolytes are key.

Staying properly hydrated is vitally important to maintaining balance and supporting the body through stressful events. As a general rule, the goal is to drink half your body weight in fluid ounces. For example, if you’re a person that weighs 200 pounds you should consume roughly 100 fluid ounces of water per day. Keep in mind, fresh fruits and vegetables also are hydrating, but should not replace drinking hydrating beverages such as water, coconut water, or bone broth (hug in a mug!).

Protein 

It is impossible to find a system in the body that does not rely on protein for healthy functioning, as all of our cells require proteins to exist. Hormones, nervous system messaging molecules (neurotransmitters), digestive enzymes, and energy-producing enzymes all depend on protein. Incorporating this macronutrient in your diet is key to supporting your body through stress as it will fuel your system from a cellular level, ensuring your body will return to balance. High sources of protein are wild caught seafood such as salmon, sardines, and shrimp, grass-fed meat, pasture-raised chicken and eggs, and sprouted nuts and seeds.

Choline 

The role of choline in the body is complex and is required for a wide range of critical functions. I’m taking this as a supplement right now to give my body added support with managing stress. Sometimes your body requires an extra boost! Choline has been shown to play an important role in brain health and may protect against stress. Egg yolks are the most concentrated source of choline in the American diet. Other great sources of choline include shrimp, scallops, cod, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, swiss chard, asparagus, and spinach.

Selenium

Selenium is required for the proper activity of a group of enzymes that play a key role in the body's detoxification system and protection against oxidative stress. Studies have found a connection between severe and continued stressful events and higher biomarkers for oxidative stress. Incorporating selenium-rich foods will protect the body against oxidative stress and ensure proper detoxification. The best source of selenium is brazil nuts, followed by oysters, clams, liver, and kidney. 

Vitamin D

Vitamin D may be one of the most fundamentally important building blocks available to us for creating and sustaining vibrant health. Of its many roles, vitamin D regulates immune function, cell growth, and neuromuscular function. Studies suggest that vitamin D status plays an important role in supporting our bodies through acute stress. The very best source of vitamin D is the sun and its sweet rays, followed by nutrient-dense whole foods like salmon, eggs, and sardines. 

Turmeric 

Turmeric has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Prized for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, recent studies have shown the spice plays an active role in treating various central nervous system disorders as well as offering a protective action against stress. Turmeric can be utilized either fresh or dried and is easily incorporated into many types of cuisines. A great beverage option that utilizes turmeric is Golden Milk! Make sure to add a crack of pepper with turmeric to activate the curcumin, the healing property of turmeric.

I love to sprinkle turmeric on my eggs – it’s so good – as well as in hot cacao, chai tea, coffee, overnight oats, and smoothies.

Chamomile 

Chamomile is one of the most ancient medicinal herbs known to mankind. Chamomile is best known for its wonderful calming action and is used to ease tension and stress, emotional upset, nervousness, and insomnia. Purchasing dried, organic flowers in bulk is an easy and affordable way to always have chamomile on hand to be utilized as a tea, compress or a lovely addition to your bath. My favorite herbs source is Mountain Rose Herbs.

Stress is ever-present but it doesn’t have to rule your life. Aside from whole foods, there are ample other ways to de-stress.

Baths

Epsom salt and magnesium baths are a fantastic way to release tension and relax the body! Don't have to twist my arm. 

Meditation

I try to meditate daily (I use Insight Timer but there are other wonderful meditation apps out there) to calm my mind and mitigate negative thoughts and feelings.

Breathwork

I love to do breathwork throughout the day to check in with myself, release tension, and calm my body.

Functional movement

Daily I participate in some sort of movement that feels good to me. Some days that’s weight lifting and bodyweight movements, other days it looks like walking, yoga, low-impact cardio (like boxing), and stretching. 

Brainstorm some ways that can help you de-stress and leave you feeling lighter and more at ease. It may take trying different things out, and those things may change from season to season. The point is to find a few things that work for you. Start implementing them into your life, a little at a time. You’ll start to notice your ability to reduce stress becomes easier and easier with more practice doing stress-relieving activities. Can I get an amen?!

Remind yourself of what you can control. Let go of that which you can not. And don’t beat yourself up when you find yourself stressed out. It takes time practicing how to manage stress, but the practice will pay off!

Recognize your stress triggers. Acknowledge how you feel. Move into a practice (meditation, breathing, taking a walk) that allows you to work through it and let it go. We aren’t meant to live chronically stressed, but we live in a demanding world. Life’s too short to be stressed all the time, friend.

Live each day as it comes, be present, and try moving a little more slowly each day.

Sources

 “5 Things You Should Know About Stress.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/index.shtml. 

“Choline.” The World's Healthiest Foods, http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=50

Glenn, Melissa J, et al. “Supplemental Dietary Choline during Development Exerts Antidepressant-like Effects in Adult Female Rats.” Brain Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 14 Mar. 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3327365/. 

Kulkarni, S K, and A Dhir. “An Overview of Curcumin in Neurological Disorders.” Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Medknow Publications, Mar. 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2929771/.

Schiavone, Stefania, et al. “Severe Life Stress and Oxidative Stress in the Brain: from Animal Models to Human Pathology.” Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 20 Apr. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3603496/.

“Selenium.” The World's Healthiest Foods, http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=95

Quraishi, Sadeq A, and Carlos A Camargo. “Vitamin D in Acute Stress and Critical Illness.” Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3751798/. 

Zeisel, Steven H, and Kerry-Ann da Costa. “Choline: an Essential Nutrient for Public Health.” Nutrition Reviews, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2782876/.