How to Optimize Your Diet to Reduce Stress Levels

If you’ve tried various stress management techniques—better time management, meditation, and other wellness practices—yet still feel overly stressed, there may be one key factor you’re overlooking: your diet.

What you eat plays a crucial role in how your body handles stress. Some foods and drinks can heighten stress responses, while others help regulate them. Understanding this connection is essential. Here’s what you need to know.

The Science of Stress and Nutrition

When you’re stressed, your body is impacted in more ways than just a sudden feeling of nausea or a pounding headache. A surge of hormones is released throughout the body, including adrenaline and cortisol, the primary stress hormone.

According to Mayo Clinic, these hormones make your body do a few things. Adrenaline gives you more energy to deal with a perceived threat immediately. At the same time, cortisol increases sugar in the bloodstream while slowing functions that are unnecessary during a fight-or-flight situation.

These hormones operate under the biological understanding that if you’re stressed, it means your life is in danger. In modern reality, that’s not exactly the case. When you’re stressed about a work interaction, and your cortisol rises (and remains heightened), it unhelpfully slows your digestion, making it more difficult for you to lose weight. Increased cortisol also leads to higher blood pressure and blood sugar.

In addition to these hormonal responses to stress, today’s busy professionals may also be more inclined to make less healthy decisions due to stress. This only exacerbates the existing issues, leading to more problems, such as insulin resistance, excess visceral fat, and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

Luckily, though, there are foods that can help you lower your cortisol levels and feel better faster..

Foods That Fight Stress

Certain foods have been recognized for reducing cortisol levels and helping alleviate stress. Avocados and salmon are prime examples, brimming with omega-3 fatty acids. Spinach deserves a special mention for its folate and phytochemical content, which targets cortisol and helps stabilize blood sugar levels, lessening the impact of stress on the body. Additionally, polyphenols in dark chocolate contribute to reduced cortisol levels, while bananas support serotonin production and are a good source of vitamin C. This nutrient, particularly prevalent in citrus fruits, effectively manages stress responses.

Additionally, fermented foods can be beneficial for reducing stress levels in the body due to the gut-brain axis and how your gut health actively impacts your brain health. Probiotics like those found in fermented foods and probiotic supplements can help you perform better under stress and lower cortisol levels. Prebiotics, likewise, can help you deal with stressful events in a healthier manner.

Beyond the foods you eat, what and how much you drink is also important. Dehydration can cause stress, and stress can cause dehydration. Begin your day with warm lemon water to help reduce stress and increase hydration.

Nutrition–Based Stress Management Goes Beyond What You Eat

While choosing the right, specific foods for your wellness goals is vital to a nutrition-backed stress management plan, you must also consider a few other factors. Beyond what you eat, think about how you eat.

Incorporating mindfulness into your eating habits can be a powerful stress-reduction tool. It begins with deliberately selecting foods and considering their effects on your well-being. Beyond just choosing wisely, it’s about fully engaging with the act of eating. Take a break from work and electronic distractions to immerse yourself in the sensory pleasures of your meal—the flavors, textures, aromas, and the experience of nourishment. Such mindful engagement enhances your dining experience and helps prevent overindulgence by promoting greater awareness of satiety signals.

Additionally, keeping your blood sugar levels in mind as you eat is also crucial. According to the University of Michigan, high blood sugar goes hand in hand with high cortisol levels, and unstable blood sugar levels can lead to poor mental health. To avoid blood sugar spikes, balance your meals with a blend of non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and protein.

Enhance the Benefits of a Stress–Reducing Diet with Other Lifestyle Changes

Maximizing the stress-diminishing effects of your diet involves embracing a broader spectrum of healthy habits.

Integrate daily exercise into your routine—perhaps followed by a nutritious smoothie (packed with avocados, spinach, bananas, and/or citrus fruits) to complement your workout. Adjust your lifestyle to include a consistent sleep pattern, ensuring restorative rest each night. Embed relaxation techniques into your everyday life, such as meditation or yoga. And don’t underestimate the power of a supportive social network to facilitate and reinforce these positive changes.

The Bottom Line

Making the right nutritional choices can significantly reduce stress levels, but lessening stress through nutrition isn’t only about what you eat. It’s also about how you eat and other lifestyle factors.

Looking to build healthier habits? Sign up for a complimentary call with an Arootah Health Coach to learn how we can support you.