Nutrition: 5 Foods That Promote Stress
While some ingredients like cocoa and dark chocolate are natural anxiolytics, others can maintain and increase anxiety. To help you stay calm, we have listed for you 5 foods that promote stress and are better avoided when you already feel under pressure.
1- Sugar
If you tend to reach for a pack of candy when you're stressed, know that it's a very bad idea, and not just for your oral health...
Sugar is one of the 5 foods that promote stress because it causes blood sugar levels to spike. Consuming sugary products like candies and sweets leads to an insulin spike, followed by reactive hypoglycemia.
However, hypoglycemia causes a general feeling of discomfort, which can promote latent stress. This is why consuming sugary products only provides temporary relief in stressful situations.
Next time you feel like snacking on something sweet due to frustration, remind yourself that it's not a good way to manage your emotions. It's not the solution to your anxiety, especially since eating sweets to calm down promotes eating disorders and sugar addiction.
2- Sweeteners
People who want to reduce their sugar intake to stay healthy or maintain their figure generally turn to sweeteners like aspartame, stevia, or xylitol. But be careful! These substitutes are not a miracle solution for enjoying sweet flavors without gaining weight or experiencing other drawbacks.
Even though they contain much fewer calories than regular sugar, they only maintain our natural attraction to sweet tastes. Moreover, as they are less satisfying than truly sweet foods, they encourage more eating. By perpetuating snacking and poor eating habits, sweetened products promote stress instead of alleviating it.
3- Alcohol
The same warning also applies to alcohol. Certainly, it is not a food in the strict sense, but it ranks high among the 5 products that promote stress.
It is often believed that having a small drink is a good idea to relax when stressed. It is true that alcohol initially has a euphoric and anxiolytic effect, as it stimulates the production of dopamine in the brain.
But, just like sugar, this effect is temporary. As soon as your body eliminates the ingested alcohol, it produces less dopamine and your anxiety returns even stronger than before. This rebound effect is very detrimental to health, as it encourages the consumption of increasingly higher doses and addiction to alcohol.
4- Coffee
The caffeine found, among other things, in coffee has a well-known stimulating effect. When you have an important task to accomplish, it may be worthwhile to drink an espresso to maintain your alertness, for example, while driving or working.
Unfortunately, there is a downside. The caffeine that stimulates the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system can also cause insomnia and nervousness. That's why coffee is among the 5 foods that promote stress.
In anxious individuals, consuming several cups of coffee can cause palpitations or even trigger an anxiety attack. During stressful periods, it is therefore recommended to limit yourself to one cup of coffee per day, preferably in the morning. Throughout the day, it's better to drink decaf or soluble chicory.
Moreover, regular consumption of caffeine can lead to a form of dependence starting from 4 cups of coffee per day. People deprived of their daily dose exhibit withdrawal symptoms: headaches, fatigue, and some irritability.
5- Sodas
Sodas that contain a lot of sugar and sometimes caffeine are, of course, among the 5 foods that promote stress. Did you know that some of these soft drinks contain almost as much caffeine as a cup of coffee?
To avoid episodes of tachycardia or palpitations as well as spikes in blood sugar, it is better to avoid sodas and energy drinks during periods of stress. If you think this type of drink will give you "a boost" and help you fight fatigue, you are completely wrong! Insulin spikes and reactive hypoglycemia only worsen fatigue and anxiety.
On the other hand, when you feel tired, it's important to stay well hydrated throughout the day. So, if you crave a fizzy drink, opt for sparkling water with a slice of lemon or orange. Some mineral waters rich in magnesium are particularly recommended when suffering from anxiety, nervous fatigue, and cramps.
