What to eat when you’re stressed

I’ve always managed to think of “stress” and “eating” as a word combination that winds up reading something like, “I inhaled a lot of junk yesterday, and my problems still exist.” (I’ve lived it–vividly–more than once.) But not too long ago, Woman’s Day had me writing a stress story that completely changed my tune.  The more I learned about the way the stress mechanism works–basically, fight-or-flight hormones, like cortisol, doing a nice little number on your system–the more ways to soften the blow I discovered. In this month’s issue, we whittled it down to eight go-to eats. Here, I’ve curated the list even more (and added some extra commentary). Click through for three new-to-me stress snacks…

Oatmeal: I can credit the longtime work of my friend Judith Wurtman, an author and researcher at MIT, for this one: Serotonin is a calming hormone that tends to deplete when we’re stressed out (also when we’re depressed, which is why scientists have developed Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor medicines like Zoloft and Prozac). Carbohydrates help boost those serotonin levels. Experts think this happens because back in, say, the cave days, having the opportunity to eat grains meant that we were settled and safe. These days, there’s no such correlation, of course. But the effect still works–a little too much, sometimes (read: candy, cookies, chips, etc.), so it’s critical to choose wisely. A bowl of oatmeal is full of not just carbs, but also fiber, meaning that the effect will be lasting (as opposed to gummy bears which, though also full of soothing carbs, will stay in your system for all of a few minutes).

Sunflower seeds: These, it turns out, are a phenomenal source of folate, which helps our brains produce dopamine–the same rush-of-happiness hormone that activates when something great happens. Other good sources are asparagus and broccoli. (All these, incidentally, seem like good things to put on a big, lunchtime salad.)

Spinach: A strong source of magnesium (we talk a lot about this one here), which has been shown to combat stress in study after study (it seems to relax the body in both the long and short-term). If you happen to be a fan of quinoa, that’s another place to get it.

We’ve written a ton about chocolate and salmon lately, so I’ll spare you the ramble, but if you’re curious about what those (and others) do for you on a high-tension day, click through here.