There’s something deeply special and exciting about the build up to Christmas – family, caring, acts of kindness, giving gifts, shopping and preparing festive foods – but this year is different. Whilst Christmas is definitely not cancelled because of the pandemic, we need to brighten and lighten our lives up by injecting some well-deserved cheer into the season and ensuring that we cope with any stress.
We all get stressed sometimes, and maybe feel we shouldn’t. More than ever 2020 has brought challenges to us all, so we thought we’d share some of our favourite stress reducing foods and spread the love as best we know how:
- Spinach – and other leafy greens, not only taste gorgeous simply steamed and drizzled with a squeeze of lemon and olive oil, but they are rich in magnesium which can help prevent anxiety. Just one serving of spinach can help fight stress – WOW – no wonder Popeye needed to eat so much of it 😊
- Yogurt – oooh yes, we love yogurt, especially if it’s bio-live or kefir. A great start to the day sprinkled with our Super Berry Seed Mix can help to deliver a double whammy of gut inflammation reduction and stress relief too
- Sunflower seeds – (these guys just happen to feature in every one of our packs – well just about). They contain tryptophan, an amino acid that triggers the release of serotonin in the brain. Some research has shown that this can help reduce stress, even promoting a feeling of calmness and relaxation – *grabs a pack of Honey Roasted Munchy Seeds*
- Oranges – another great start to the day. It’s well known that these juicy fruits are packed full of vitamin C, which can help to lower cortisol levels and therefore stress. What’s more, the vitamin C content in this beautiful fruit helps your body to absorb iron from spinach – Popeye was maybe missing a trick here!
- Avocado – sooo versatile – crush it on sourdough with a sprinkle of our Mega Omega Seeds or make our delicious Mexican Kale Salad. However you eat yours, just half an avocado contains more potassium than one medium banana, which helps to control your blood pressure – yippee
- Dark Chocolate – our favourite healthy luxury. It’s not hard to believe that dark chocolate releases feel-good chemicals in our brains, what’s better is that this actually helps to calm us down – *lurches for a pack of Choccy Ginger*
Of course, there are many other nutrient rich foods out there and it is fair to say that sticking to a balanced, healthy diet is good for us in so many ways. Most importantly, we think it is important to let go of stress by sharing it with others. There’s even research which shows that helping others (maybe a neighbour, friend or even a stranger) with an act of support or kindness can actually trigger great responses in our brain which also help to relieve stress.
If you enjoyed this, you can read more about the benefits of pumpkin seeds in our “Let’s Talk About Pumpkin Seeds” blog here.