No matter what the situation may be, lockdown or no lockdown, working from home or office, things get stressful nonetheless. Just like in ancient times when it was believed that pain and suffering is the common experience that brings everyone together, in today’s modern mechanical world the experience that brings us all together is stress. A lot of stress. According to studies, 33% of individuals have experienced extreme stress. A whopping 77% of the population experience physical health issues induced by stress. 73% of people have stress-induced mental health issues like depression.
With numbers that big, we have to do something about it and the only way I know I can help is through food!
So here are 3 foods that are great for reducing stress:
1. Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate has always been used to uplift our moods. From offering it to a crying child to make them feel better to a grown adult binging on ice cream to get over a messy breakup. It was found that dark chocolate has a high tryptophan content, which is an element required in the production of “happy” hormones in our body. It also has a high magnesium content, which is believed to help reduce symptoms of depression. And last but not least it is just so delicious. Have it as a snack or mix in your coffee to start your day.
2. Eggs: Yes eggs, good old eggs often called nature’s multivitamin, is a whole food which contains all the macronutrients and micronutrients that our body needs. It has large amounts of choline, a micronutrient that helps protect our brains from stress, important for maintaining brain health. To jazz up the ordinary boiled egg, cut it in a half and scoop out the yolk. whisked the cooked yolks with mayonnaise, mustard and paprika. Fill the mixture back into the boiled whites and voila, Devilled Eggs.
3. Cardamom: The fragrant cardamom not only makes any dish it goes into taste special, but also has stress-reducing effects. According to studies, it calms our nervous system down by bringing the acid levels of our body to equilibrium. Additionally, because of its gentle floral aroma, it calms our brain down inducing “happy hormones”. Add a pod of cardamom to your green tea to make yourself a calming nutritious drink.