Eating to reduce your stress

Stress is one of life's most common ills, and will affect us all at some stage. Here are some ways to help reduce it with simple dietary changes.
How stress affects our bodies

Our response to stress is largely due to a rush of hormones from the kidneys stimulated by chemical messengers in the brain.

The brain determines how we perceive and respond to stress and hormones cause the physical reactions. Even a stressful thought can cause a physical response.

Adrenaline is our number one survival hormone, taking priority over all other bodily functions. It causes the release of glucose, providing us with an immediate source of fuel needed in fight or flight.

Closely related, noradrenaline is the other 'immediate response' hormone, released from the inner part of the glands on each kidney. Cortisol, released from the outer part of the same glands, kicks in after the initial adrenaline rush, engineering the longer-term reactions.

It maintains the level of fuel required, ensuring it is only used by the parts of the body involved with fleeing or fighting, ie brain, heart and muscles. It also suppresses the effect of insulin, which would normally work to store excess glucose. Even protein stores, usually used in the repair of tissues, are being converted to glucose when cortisol is concentrating its efforts on supplying fuel. The body is no longer thinking long-term; it'll have little need for protein's repair work if death is imminent.

As well as fuel, more oxygen is needed in times of stress, facilitated by cortisol narrowing our arteries, while adrenaline increases our heart rate.
Alcohol and caffeine for stress relief?

A drink can seem the perfect antidote to a hard day's work. In the short term it is a stimulant, causing the release of mood-boosting serotonin.

The Crazy-Simple Way to Eat Less

Smart eating isn't always about choosing vegetables over fried food and skipping dessert. Sometimes, the smallest, easiest habits can make a big difference, especially when it comes to this super-simple strategy that helps you cut calories without switching up your food.

No, it's not by skipping a meal. We've got a strategy that is much easier and less likely to make you hangry: Chew your food more thoroughly. Sounds obvious, but science shows it works.

On two different days, researchers at Iowa State University in Ames fed a pizza breakfast to volunteers, instructing them to chew each mouthful 15 times on one day and 40 times on the other. When subjects chewed 40 times instead of just 15, they had lower levels of ghrelin, the hormone that triggers your brain to tell you it's time to eat. They also had higher levels of cholecystokinin, a fullness hormone found in the gut. In real life, this translated to less hunger all the way up to lunchtime, three hours later.

While there's nothing magical about chewing your food exactly 40 times, noshing more thoroughly is a simple way to keep your appetite in check. Three ways to eat more mindfully: Put down your fork between bites, don't eat in front of the TV or at a desk, and turn on some relaxing tunes while you dine.

Mediterranean Diet Plan: The World's Healthiest Diet

The more doctors test it, the more they find that eating Mediterranean is the absolute best way to lose weight. Based on the cooking and eating styles of Italy, France, Greece, Spain, and other Mediterranean countries, the plan features olive oil, fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish and poultry, whole grains and, yes, wine! It's high in heart-healthy fats and, unlike other diets, doesn't forbid any food group. "It's hard to stay on extreme diets," says Harvard nutrition expert Walter Willett, MD, PhD, whose book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy popularized the approach in the United States. "This diet has lots of variety and wonderful flavors so people stick with it."

The Best Anti-Aging Foods

Best for Softening Skin: Pomegranates

Why they work: This fruit is packed with vitamin C, which helps guard against the wrinkling effects of sun damage. Plus, says Debra Jaliman, MD, an assistant professor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, the juice in pomegranate seeds contains both ellagic acid and punicalagin. The first is a polyphenol compound that fights damage from free radicals; the second is a supernutrient that may increase your body's capacity to preserve collagen, the subdermal connective tissue that makes skin look smooth and plump.

Serve yourself: A cup of pomegranate seeds — not just juice — every week, suggests Jackie Newgent, RD, a nutritionist based in New York City.

3 Ways to Stop Emotional Eating

"Eating can be a powerful distraction from uncomfortable or sad feelings," says Sari Shepphird, a clinical and sport psychologist and author of 100 Questions and Answers About Anorexia Nervosa. If you find yourself beelining to the vending machine when you're stressed at work or seriously caving into cravings when you've had an argument with a friend, read on for tips to stop emotional eating before it starts.

Dieters are at a particularly high risk for emotional eating: "The more you deprive yourself, the more likely you are to overeat," Shepphird says. If you place certain foods on the "do not eat" list, chances are you'll rebel and reach for the forbidden items when things get tough, especially because those same forbidden foods (desserts and carbs) provide quick comfort. "Foods high in carbs increase a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which is one of the main pleasure hormones in our brain," she says. Think: That instant mmm-ahhh feeling.