Top 5 Foods That Help Reduce Stress

Once the effects of stress start to show, it’s hard to reverse them. Believe me, I know, from personal experiences. Busy schedules, work deadlines, personal situations, and so much more are daily stress factors for most people.

All of this chaos in our lives promotes higher levels of stress and starts to breakdown our natural defenses for our body and mind.

Luckily for us, there are a bunch of ways to help reduce those stresses and build up our natural defenses. Eating healthier is one of the biggest and best things we can do.

Check Out These 5 Foods That Help Reduce Stress

1. **

Blueberries –** blueberries are packed with antioxidants that rejuvenate and bring back to life damaged cells in the body, which also helps to relieve stress. They help to neutralize free radicals in our bodies and help prevent cell damage.

Blueberries have other benefits that contribute to reducing stress. They improve our bodies response to stress and other anxieties, increase immunity strength, and more, and all of this helps with stress. 2. **

Chocolate (dark chocolate specifically) –** If you’re a chocolate lover, this one is for you. I said dark chocolate specifically because not all chocolates help with effectively reducing stress.

Dark chocolate though, this gives a relaxing effect in our bodies, and gives us a releasing feeling, like something lifted off our shoulders.

There have also been studies that show eating dark chocolate helps to reduce cortisol levels in our bodies. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. 3. **

Cashews –** All nuts are great for everything from snacks to toppings on everything from breakfast to dessert. Nuts are massively beneficial. Cashews, though, they have a little extra benefit.

They’re packed with omega-3s, and proteins, which reduce cravings and make you feel full. But more importantly, they’re loaded with zinc, which is needed for reducing stress. Lower zinc levels are key causes of stress and anxiety.

So making sure you have enough zinc is a major thing for relieving stress . 4. **

Avocados –** Avocados have many many benefits like weight loss, healthy fats, and also for [stress reduction](https://www.myrelaxingvibes.com/3-top-ways-to-reduce-everyday-stresses/). One of the benefits of avocados is they have glutathione, which the absorption of fats that cause oxidative damage. All of these things are very helpful in dealing with stress. 5. Salmon – One of the big benefits of eating salmon is that it reduces stress. Salmon is jampacked with omega-3 fatty acids which are very powerful anit-inflammatory agents.

Studies have revealed that salmon helps in decreasing the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which brings on a calming effect.

Another study shows that people who eat salmon regularly have much lower stress levels than those who don’t. Salmon is good for your heart – it’s the gift food that keeps on giving.