Stressed out? Well, who isn’t! But according to a recent Yahoo! Food article, “Regardless of the cause, there’s an almost Alice in Wonderland counter-intuitiveness to the goodies we turn to for comfort. Instead of soothing our frayed nerves, many of them ultimately make us feel worse.” You can think of the examples easily. But, take heart, true stress-relieving comfort foods do exist. The article lets us in on seven of the most effective:

• Berries, any berries. Eat them one by one instead of M&Ms when the pressure’s on. For those tough times when tension tightens your jaw, try rolling a frozen berry around in your mouth. And then another, and another. Since the carbs in berries turn to sugar very slowly, you won’t have a blood sugar crash.
• Guacamole. If you’re craving something creamy, look no further. Avocados are loaded with B vitamins, which stress quickly depletes and which your body needs to maintain nerves and brain cells. Plus their creaminess comes from healthy fat. Scoop up the stuff with whole-grain baked chips–crunching keeps you from gritting your teeth.
• Mixed nuts. Just an ounce will help replace those stress-depleted Bs (walnuts), give you a whopping amount of zinc (Brazil nuts)-it’s also drained by high anxiety-and boost your E (almonds), which helps fight cellular damage linked to chronic stress.
• Oranges. People who take a 1,000 mg of C before giving a speech have lower levels of cortisol and lower blood pressure than those who don’t. So lean back, take a deep breath, and concentrate on peeling a large orange. The short mindfulness break will ease your mind and you’ll get a bunch of C as well.
• Asparagus. Each tender stalk is a source of folic acid, a natural mood-lightener. Dip the spears in fat-free yogurt or sour cream for a hit of calcium with each bite.
• Chai tea. A warm drink is a super soother, and curling up with a cup of aromatic decaf chai tea (Tazo makes ready-to-brew bags) can make the whole evil day go away.
• Dark chocolate. Okay, there’s nothing in it that relieves stress, but when only chocolate will do, reach for the dark, sultry kind that’s at least 70% cocoa. You figure if the antioxidant flavonoids in it are potent enough to fight cancer and heart disease, they’ve got to be able to temper tension’s effects.

Source: “Foods To Calm You Down Fast,” Yahoo! Food / Real Age 02/06/07.

Related Post: “Top 10 Foods for a Good Night’s Sleep,” EBT Blog 02/15/07.

Photo: Uploaded to Flickr 11/04/06 by nerdboy

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