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Business News/ News / Business Of Life/  How to eat your way to wellness
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How to eat your way to wellness

Which foods can help you fight anxiety and worries? And how best can you include them in your daily diet? Experts decode the natural stress-busters

Chef Ranveer Brar’s recipe is a good way to top up the magnesium content in your meal Premium
Chef Ranveer Brar’s recipe is a good way to top up the magnesium content in your meal

OTHERS :

There are foods that can stress you out—think too much caffeine in your system—so it follows that there must be foods that can calm you down. Ayurveda has known this all along, but just how well can natural foods fight stress?

Ritika Samaddar, head, dietetics, Max Healthcare, New Delhi, and Sneha Hoonjan, executive dietitian at Columbia Asia Hospital, Pune, explain just how certain foods combat stress, and how best to eat them.

Target tryptophan

Do you know how antidepressant drugs work?

“They stop the body from breaking down a feel-good brain chemical called serotonin," says Samaddar. “This leads to more production of serotonin in the brain, and thus keeps stress at bay."

Foods rich in tryptophan—one of the 10 essential amino acids the body needs for synthesizing proteins—do the same, as tryptophan signals the brain to release serotonin. Almonds, milk and banana are all rich in the amino acid. “Add banana and almonds to your oats, munch on some nuts in the afternoon and have a glass of milk at night," Samaddar says.

Target zinc

Low levels of zinc have been linked to both anxiety and depression. Researchers in Poland, in a 2005 paper titled Zinc And Depression. An Update published in Pharmacological Reports, suggested that zinc in the brain functions in a manner similar to some antidepressant drugs; both stimulate the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)—a protein secreted in the body that causes certain types of nerve cells to survive and grow—deficiency of which is clearly linked to the development of depression.

“Our bodies do not store zinc, it’s important to get some every day," says Samaddar. “The recommended daily zinc intake ranges from 8-11mg/day but people dealing with depression, and pregnant and lactating women need more."

Lamb, salmon and oysters are loaded with zinc.

If you are a vegetarian, eat nuts and seeds daily, particularly cashews (snack on lightly salted and toasted ones, or just toss them into a vegetable/paneer stir-fry) and pumpkin seeds (top your oats with them, put them toasted in salads).

Target magnesium

Magnesium is a known stress-buster and a natural muscle relaxant. “It’s also known as a ‘happy mineral’," Hoonjan says. “And plays a major role in neurotransmitter release, which affects the discharge of brain chemicals such as serotonin."

Think prunes (snack on them), spinach (add some to your morning eggs, swap for lettuce in your sandwich or drop a handful in your soup), buckwheat, almonds and tofu.

Chef Ranveer Brar, who hosts Snack Attack on the channel Zee Khana Khazana, shares an easy recipe for a tofu scramble: Cut 100g tofu into thin slices. Put the slices in a bowl filled with water to which a pinch of salt has been added. Now heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and fry 2 tsp cumin seeds; one-fourth of a cup of cut leeks; three-fourths of a teaspoon of coriander powder; 1 tsp finely chopped garlic; and three-fourths of a teaspoon nutmeg powder in it for 30 seconds. Add one-fourth of a cup each of green and yellow zucchini, sliced; and 1 tomato, chopped. Add salt to taste, and toss for a minute or two. Add one-fourth of a cup of vegetable stock or water and simmer for about 4 minutes. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in another pan and fry three-fourths of a teaspoon of coriander, half a teaspoon of curry powder, three-fourths of a teaspoon of nutmeg powder, and 2 tsp coriander leaves, finely chopped. Strain the tofu and add to the pan. Mix in five-six spinach leaves, chopped. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Place the tofu on the prepared vegetables.

Target calcium

In 1994, a study published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine demonstrated the beneficial effect of calcium on one’s mood. Calcium helps relax nerves and muscle cells, which is why it has been dubbed one of nature’s tranquillizers.

There’s no better source than milk. “A glass of warm milk before bed is a time-tested remedy for insomnia and fidgetiness," says Hoonjan. “Besides calcium and B vitamins, it has protein lactium, which bestows a calming effect by lowering blood pressure."

Better still, have a mango shake. Mangoes are rich in magnesium, and both these minerals work very well in tandem. Also stock up on yogurt, cottage cheese, chhaach and yes, even low-fat cheese, all great sources of calcium.

Target Omega 3

A study done by researchers at The Ohio State University, US—published in 2011 in the journal Brain, Behavior, And Immunity—found that Omega 3 helps fight inflammation and stress by reducing the level of cytokines in the body (compounds that promote inflammation, and depression).

Salmon is one of the best sources of these essential fatty acids. “If you are a vegetarian, then add flax seeds to your diet," says Samaddar.

Ashis Rout, executive chef at Courtyard by Marriott, Gurgaon, gives us this recipe for salmon with wok-tossed amaranth (chaulai) leaves.

Make a Toscana dressing by mixing 10 black olives, chopped; 5g parsley, chopped; 1 tomato, chopped; 20ml olive oil; the juice of one lemon; and salt to taste. Take 240g fish fillets and marinate in 10ml olive oil, half a teaspoon each of salt and pepper for a few minutes. Add some oil to a pan and cook the salmon skin side down on moderate heat till done. Meanwhile, take a piece of cling film and apply 5ml oil on it. Break an egg on it, tie it properly and poach in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, till the egg is moderately firm. Now in a pan add two-and-a-half tbsp of olive oil, sauté 1 tsp of garlic for a minute, add 1 thickly-sliced onion and 150g amaranth leaves (which may be substituted with spinach) and just toss it on a very high flame for 15 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the amaranth leaves, place the fish and poached egg and pour the Toscana dressing.

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More stress-busters

Make these a daily part of your diet too

u Vitamin B6 is responsible for producing mood-boosting serotonin. Good sources are figs, garlic, and wheat bran.

u Complex carbs also stimulate the production of serotonin. Brown rice, wholewheat pasta, wholewheat flour, ‘bajra’, ‘jowar’ and oats are examples of complex carbohydrates.

u Vitamin C lowers blood pressure and the stress hormone cortisol. ‘Amla’ is packed with vitamin C, as are guavas, oranges and green chillies.

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Published: 22 Jul 2013, 08:36 PM IST
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