Control your physical response to stress 43
Good fuel
You are what you eat and drink. If you know that your diet is
not what you want it to be, you won’t change it until you start
to recognise the link between what goes into your body and the
person you are.
Your choice of what you consume will have a huge and rapid
effect on your mood and your response to stress. Why do
nicotine, caffeine, excess sugar and fats, and various drugs
have such a massive impact on our bodies? It’s because they
contain powerful active chemicals. In most cases, it is this
high biological activity that renders them toxic when used to
excess.
Food
Dietary choices are intimately tied up with all aspects of your
health, and only experts can truly hope to keep up with the
constant stream of research showing heart benets of this food
and cancer risks from that. Brilliant Stress Management cannot
give you the information you need to ne-tune your diet, but
balance and moderation will always be a good starting point, as
will the use of fresh, seasonal foods, with the minimum of pre-
processing. Keeping your salt, saturated fat and sugar intakes to
moderate levels is extremely important, and ensuring you eat
good quantities of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables will
keep you feeling good.
Perhaps as important as what you
eat is how you eat. Make time for
your meals. Making meals a social
activity and participating in their
preparation will slow you down and
chill you out. Eating a meal at a relaxed pace and enjoying good
company will help put your body in the ideal state to digest your
food well.
perhaps as important
as what you eat is how
you eat
44 brilliant stress management
Water
Your brain is like a grape – or a raisin. Very slight shortages of
water – well below the level that triggers fatigue or headaches
– cause your brain to shrink and wrinkle up. Not by much, but
it is enough to diminish its effectiveness. Keep drinking fresh
water (British tap water is very good quality) to stay at your
best. Typically, you should aim for a cup an hour – more in hot
weather or dry, air-conditioned environments.
Another reason to drink plenty of water is that your brain can
often confuse thirst for hunger, triggering you to seek more food
than you need. So, even if you don’t feel thirsty, make a glass of
brilliant
list
Stress-healthy foods
Here is a list of food for which there is some evidence of stress reduction or
helping your body stay healthy at times of stress.
Fresh fruit
Fresh vegetables – especially leafy green vegetables like cabbage,
spinach and broccoli; carrots; tomatoes; onions and garlic; peas;
capsicums (peppers)
Oily fish
Pulses and beans
Dried fruit – but avoid sulphur-treated fruits
Nuts and seeds
Fruit and nut bars based on oats (not on chocolate, sorry!)
Eggs
Soya products like tofu
Herb teas and infusions
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