A touch of serenity on your plate

What if eating could also be soothing? What if at the end of your fork, there was calm?

Food and stress are closely intertwined, because stress influences appetite and all our eating behaviors, by directing us towards more or less desire to eat (food compulsions, hyperphagia), and towards certain types of food (fatty, sweet…).

Acute stress suppresses appetite, while chronic stress increases appetite through the release of cortisol, the stress hormone. And there, it directs towards ultra-processed foods, rich in fat and sugar, which themselves affect the cortisol and therefore the management of stress… a real infernal circle!

Brain and food

The way we eat affects our stress levels and how we deal with it, as our food impacts the brain and our mood.

With a good dose of vitamins and minerals, the brain functions optimally, while highly processed foods cause inflammation, oxidative stress and anxiety. To reduce the level of cortisol in the body, we must adopt an anti-inflammatory diet, that is to say few processed foods and many whole foods.

A good diet helps to calm down and reduce anxiety.

A poor diet increases the effects of stress, and conversely, stress has a strong influence on digestion, generating disorders and modifying the microbiota, which aggravates inflammation… the loop is closed and the discomfort general!

It is not by chance that already in the 5th century BC, Hippocrates, a Greek physician, recommended: “Let your food be your first medicine”!

So, it is urgent to take care of your plate, it is not only a question of eating, but of choosing what is good for your psyche, your body and even your skin. And yes, it is easy, without depriving yourself and with greed!

Your ideal plate?

• Fill up on magnesium and B vitamins.

To better fight against fatigue and stress, magnesium is essential, but stress promotes the loss of magnesium … another vicious circle! Vitamin B6 is essential for the absorption of magnesium.

It is necessary to consume eggs to fight against mood swings, dairy products (milk contains a tryptophan, which acts on serotonin and melatonin), whole grains (oatmeal) and legumes. Which foods are rich in magnesium? Dark chocolate which favors endorphins and decreases cortisol, but also bananas (relaxes and improves emotions), walnuts, hazelnuts, avocado, broccoli… Almonds are very rich in iron, therefore anti-fatigue. In your glass, pour mineral water rich in magnesium like Contrex and Hépar. But to use punctually in case of deficit, because we obviously militate for the tap water.

• • Abuse fruits and vegetables.

  They are full of minerals, vitamins, trace elements, fiber, etc. World champion: spinach, full of folic acid (vitamin B) and magnesium. It’s THE vegetable that chases away stress!

  As for the avocado, it is a concentrate of monounsaturated fatty acids and potassium that keep stress and irritability at bay (it is best to avoid choosing a geographical origin that is very far away… We don’t think enough about red fruits, especially blueberries, but they are a great anti-stress food, like citrus fruits and kiwi. Tomatoes are full of lycopenes that enhance well-being.

  • Think about Omega 3.

  They are found in fatty fish: salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, but also in flax or chia seeds… Why omega 3? They are essential fatty acids, not produced by the body and therefore needing to be taken in from outside, which slow down the effects of cortisol and therefore stress. In addition, they are packed with B vitamins, anti-fatigue and anti-stress too.

  • Drink anti-stress herbal teas

  Chamomile, valerian, passion flower, lemon balm or hawthorn. And of course, lime blossom is number one, used since the dawn of time to soothe. So calming that it is the tea in which Proust’s famous madeleine was soaked. “And all of a sudden the memory came to me. This taste was that of the little piece of madeleine that on Sunday mornings in Combray (…), when I went to say hello to her in her room, my Aunt Léonie offered me after having soaked it in her linden infusion”.

• Adopt an anti-stress food supplement

Ideal to supplement the contributions of the food, it contributes largely to calm the spirit, to calm the anxiety, to support the sleep. The Powder Zero Worry is a concentrate of lime (flowers and sapwood), lemon balm, burdock, vitamin B6 and magnesium. A very tasty powder (yes, pleasure helps to alleviate stress), which relaxes and relaxes, detoxifies the body at the same time, and even strengthens the skin’s radiance. To be enjoyed every night!

Your “repulsor” plate

These are the “stressful” foods to avoid, all those you eat with a guilty conscience, and your conscience is right

– Alcohol
– Caffeine
– Everything rich in sugar, simple carbohydrates (pastries and cakes), white sugar (replace with honey and brown sugar), sodas.
– Highly refined foods
– Fried foods

What better way to relax, to take care of yourself, to savor with greed a bite of serenity? So in the kitchen, or at the restaurant, let’s keep in mind that we can do ourselves good by eating (or bad!!).