If you are feeling tired, lack energy and wonder what you can do to pick-yourself up….rather then reach for a cup of coffee or snack on doughnuts and cookies…reach out and try these super foods to boost your energy and reduce stress.
The foods you eat affect your energy more than you realize. Have you ever eaten a heavy meal and felt lethargic afterwards?
To feel alive and to give your best to yourself, your work, and your family, it is essential you eat foods that nurture and nourish your core.
What Causes your Exhaustion or Fatigue? What Happens To Your Body During Stressful Times?
Stress plays havoc with your body’s immune system. When you feel (are) stressed, your body undergoes many changes. These include an increased heart rate, migraines and digestive disorders. Your body has an amazing ability to heal and repair itself from stressful situations. The adrenal glands are responsible for producing the body’s stress hormones norepinephrine and epinephrine, which regulate the fight or flight response in the body. When you are stressed, your body produces an increased level of these stress hormones that can lead to nutritional deficiencies and an exhausted adrenal gland.
If you are going through a troubled time, it is too easy to snack on junk and eat highly processed comfort foods. However, to ease the burden on your adrenal glands it is essential you eat healthy fresh produce and organic fruits and vegetables.
Top Benefit Of Eating Fresh, Whole Foods
You will feel lighter, healthier, and in the long run find it easier to deal with stress. To help your adrenal glands work better when you are under stress, it is vital you eat foods that enhance and support their function and contain properties that help the body to deal efficiently with worrying situations.
Five Foods to Eat to Help You Manage Stress
These foods and high quality snacks can be found at your local farmers market, organic health shops and good grocery stores.
1. Sunflower Seeds are rich in protein, fibre, B vitamins, and zinc minerals that have an important role in keeping your adrenal glands healthy. You can eat raw sunflower seeds as a snack or sprinkle them on breakfast cereals, salads and vegetarian dishes.
2. Cabbage is an excellent stress busting food. Cabbage is an excellent source of fibre, vitamins (especially C, K, E, B1 and B9), minerals (including iron, selenium and potassium) and beta carotene. Green cabbage is especially rich in these nutrients. The combination of these vitamins and minerals all help to boost your energy in stressful times. Cabbage can be eaten raw or gently steamed.
3. Avocados are a rich source of vitamins, especially B2, riboflavin, B6, C and E as well as the minerals iron, potassium and manganese. The high vitamin and mineral content in avocados aids with red blood cell regeneration and prevention of anaemia. Anaemia causes fatigue and lowers your ability to deal with stress.
4. Almonds are an excellent source of iron, potassium and magnesium which helps support adrenal function. Low levels of magnesium can increase your feelings of anxiety, irritability and sleeplessness. Almonds are also a good source of protein especially when combined with other plant based foods such as whole grains and legumes. Soak a handful of almonds overnight in cold water. They are much softer to eat and digest the following day.
5. Wholegrain brown rice is a good source of fiber and vitamins, including B group and minerals (iron, calcium and phosphorous). Rice provides a slow release energy that helps the release of the chemicals serotonin. This helps to boost your energy and has a calming effect on your brain. Brown rice contains protein which when combined with other vegetable protein aids tissue growth and repair, which can be adversely affected during stressful times.
Like you, I want my family to eat well and have energy to do the activities they enjoy. So, I encourage you, to include these foods as much as you can into your daily diet
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