Managing Stress with Diet

Thanks for the valuable comments from the readers of this blog.........
Since we have struck the most talked about subject : "Stress", lets try to see how diet can be of help to ease out this situation.......

Stress is an inevitable truth of today's lifestyle and no one can escape it !!!

Unfortunately, prolonged or long term stress takes its toll on the body and can cause decreased energy levels, decreased resistance power, decreased appetite and heightened irritability. It also works overtime on our stress hormones and further taxes our heart and blood vessels too. It eventually affects all the systems of our body and accelerates the "Breakdown".

The Strategy to combat and manage stress is:

• Identifying the stressors,
• Finding ways to reduce the triggers,
• Learning coping mechanisms or skills,
• Replenishing the nutrients used by the body to fight stress.

Stress causes oxidative load on the body and gives rise to free radicals. These can be eliminated by supplying the body with nutrients which are powerful antioxidants and render the free radicals harmless.Certain nutrients are very useful in fighting stress. Including these in our daily diet can help reduce and fight stress.

Pantothenic acid(Vit. B5) : Plays a major role in making stress hormones and energy production. Food sources of Vit. B5 are, Whole grains, nuts, molasses, organ meats, green leafy vegetables, dairy products.

Vitamin C: It is an excellent antioxidant and abundantly found in AMLA ( Indian Gooseberry). Other sources of this vitamin are Guava, Capsicum, Cabbage, Drumstick leaves, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, All citrus fruits and Kiwi.

Beta Carotene: It is the precursor of Vitamin A and a powerful antioxidant as well. It is found in green leafy vegetables, carrots, apricots, pumpkin, musk melons and papaya.

Zinc: Zinc is required by the body in very small amounts but is very useful in fighting stress. We get zinc from legumes and pulses like Bengal gram, cow pea, Rajmah etc. It is also found in almonds, cashew nuts, pumpkin seeds, safflower seeds, sesame and poppy seeds, coconut, mushrooms and Soybean. Animal sources of zinc are egg yolks, clamps, oysters and fish.

Magnesium: It is a very important mineral and participates in various biochemical reactions and activates a lot of enzymes in the body. It is important for our bone health, calms the nervous system, regulates heart beat, strengthens digestion and also regulates thyroid function. Natural sources of this mineral are, Green leafy vegetables, Betel leaves, almonds, cow pea(chawli), moth beans(matki), Coconut, Sesame seeds, Walnuts , figs, Apples, Broccoli, Corn.

Chromium: It is an essential micro nutrient and has been shown to fight fatigue and increase energy levels.It is found in Betel leaves, almonds, dry ginger, poppy seeds, walnuts, sesame seeds, Raw wheat germ, meat, shell fish and clamps.

Selenium:This is a trace element which works in combination with Vitamin E to produce an important antioxidant enzyme and helps the body to eliminate toxic elements from the body. It promotes energy production, increases immunity and slows down Ageing. It is found in different nuts and oil seeds, wheat germ and onions.

Vitamin B Complex: Includes Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, B12. This vitamin B complex is vital in energy production and proper nerve function.They have a wide range of effects, from alleviating stress to preventing atherosclerosis.These cannot be replaced by one another and are found in milk and milk products, eggs, fish, Peanuts, sunflower seeds, Walnuts, . Vit. B1 and B3 are also found in unrefined whole grains, rice bran and some green leafy vegetables.

Lifestyle Changes to reduce Stress

• Make sure your diet has enough of above mentioned Antioxidants to fight stress.
• Having an Exercise routine of at least 30 to 45 minutes daily helps to reduce stress. Meditation and Yoga also helps fighting stress.
• Limit intake of refined, processed, convenience foods having excess sugar, salt and artificial preservatives.These actually rob the body of stored nutrients and finally increase the stress on the body.
• Limit intake of Caffeine (teas, coffee, cola drinks). Replace them with herbal teas or vegetable juices if possible.
• Do not resort to Fad diets, Crash diets and Starvation diets. These almost always create nutrient deficiencies, deplete the body and put the body in further stress.

Stress-buster Garlic

Stress is a modern BUZZ word and I am sure all of us use this word more often than our earlier generations used to. We all experience increased stress in our lives today and try to manage it, combat it and cope with it all the time.


Stress is a natural element of life and has been there ever since man has existed on this earth. But for our ancestors, stress used to exist in the form of a life threatening situation with usually a "FIGHT or FLIGHT " response. Anthropologists say that our ancestors spent their time in sport, recreation, family life, ritual and community dance and music. Stress, for them was occasional, and existed while hunting or warfare only. Their body also got enough time to regain and rebuild itself in between 2 episodes of major stress.





Unfortunately, many of us are already into the trap of continual STRESS to meet the complexities of modern civilization and our modern lifestyle. Our body is exposed to stress all the time and many of us are able to relax only rarely, are not able to enjoy even our exercise, many of us have completely forgotten about our hobbies, and whatever relaxation we may have, is of a poor quality. I have come across many people who claim that watching TV is very relaxing.......... Its time to look back and see if TV watching is relaxing or Taxing?



All of us experience the symptoms of stress in every day life like reduced energy levels, chronic Fatigue, debility, exhaustion, indigestion, insomnia, depletion of immune system, recurring illnesses, headaches, shortness of breath, back pain, muscle stiffness..... the list is endless.


So, if stress has become an inevitable part of our modern lifestyle,
Let us find if Garlic can be useful in fighting Stress.

• Crushed Garlic with milk early in the morning acts like a TONIC and builds energy slowly and steadily over weeks or months.
  
• Using garlic in everyday cooking, improves digestion and absorption of several nutrients and helps in improving general resistance and immunity.
  
• Animal trials confirm that garlic is useful in fighting fatigue and resisting environmental stress.
  
• Garlic helps in reducing the blood levels of our stress hormone significantly and helps to keep the symptoms of stress away.
  
• Clinical Anti fatigue trials on humans in Japan, have shown that garlic extracts improved the symptoms of fatigue, depression, anxiety and stress.

I honestly feel that including atleast 1-2 cloves of garlic in our diet everyday will help us all to fight the day to day stress and emerge in a better shape at the end of the day.

Heart Friendly Garlic

Turning back the body-clock to a healthy Heart .....

Garlic is the most prized food that is known to have beneficial and protective effects on the heart. Garlic is capable of cleaning the clogged arteries, can even reverse the damage, and thus heal the arteries after prolonged use. It acts in several forms and in different ways to keep the heart in good shape. Lets find out how :

Garlic as an Anticoagulant: Garlic acts as a blood thinner and prevents the blood from clotting in the blood vessels. Ajoene is a very important substance in Garlic which is as effective as Aspirin which is the conventional drug used by cardiologists worldwide to fight heart diseases. {Caution: People who are already taking aspirin should include and eat garlic under the guidance of a Cardiologist and a Dietitian only.}

Effect of Garlic on Cholesterol:Cholesterol is a natural substance which is necessary for normal health of human beings. It becomes a health risk only and only when its blood levels and proportions increase beyond the normal range. Using Garlic as food reduces the levels of LDL and Triglycerides. It also increases the level of good cholesterol viz. HDL. So, it helps to keep the cholesterol levels within limits.

Garlic as an Antioxidant: Garlic is known to have excellent antioxidant properties and has atleast 15 different antioxidants that neutralise the plaque that clog the arteries. Garlic actually inhibits the oxidation of LDL cholesterol which is responsible for the formation of clogged arteries that lead to Atherosclerosis.

Garlic as an Anti hypertensive: Garlic is known to show reduction in the blood pressure. Garlic helps to relax the smooth muscles which helps the blood vessels to dilate and reduces the blood pressure moderately.

Important tips to remember when using Garlic as a heart protective food:

• Having 2 or 3 cloves of garlic daily, either raw, partially cooked or pickled, all work well to protect the heart.
  
• Garlic cloves can be crushed and juice of garlic can be squeezed and added to a little milk. This mixture acts like an excellent "Morning Tonic".
  
• Crushing and Heating garlic cloves actually increases the release of "Ajoene". So, garlic works better in these forms when to be used as cardio-protective.
  
• DO NOT EXPECT OVERNIGHT RESULTS TO DECREASE CHOLESTEROL WITH THE USE OF GARLIC. It will need atleast one to one and half months of constant daily use to show significant effects in your blood reports.