DIETS TO HELP MANAGE STRESS

Fruits
Lately, a lot of people have sent in SMS and mails concerning diets that can help them reduce stress. For instance ,Kelechi wrote in from Ibadan, 'After each working day, I get back home exhausted and worn out. This condition has been on for a very long time to the extent that I cannot not satisfy my wife. I normally dodge her advances due to lack of strength. I have visited my doctor who said my problem is caused by stress. Please help me with some diets to alleviate stress.'

Another reader, Solomon, wrote from Surulere, Lagos, 'What kind of food do I need to eat to reduce stress? It is killing me.'

Yet another reader wrote in from Ketu, Lagos, 'Are there diets that can help one manage stress?' The list goes goes on.

Stress is one of the commonest problems in this age of busy lifestyles. While it may not be possible to do away with stress completely, we can surely control it. Besides many other efficient ways to reduce stress, like playing games and listening to music, paying attention on what you eat is also an important way to manage stress.

Below are some foods that can help you in this regard.

1. Beef
Beef can help reduce stress because it contains some stress reducing nutrients like Vitamin B. Beef also has a high amount of iron.

However, like any other food, avoid eating too much of it to avoid some harmful effects. To determine the amount of beef that would be reasonable for your body, you should seek the advice of a doctor or a nutritionist.

2. Fruits
Fruits are always a source of good health. One of their benefits is their ability to help reduce stress in the body. There are different kinds of fruits like apples, bananas and oranges, with various vitamins like E, A and C, which are very good for the body. If you don't want to eat the fruits directly, you can use them to make various kinds of fruit juices. Even when they are turned into juice, they still retain their nutritional valuess.

3. Fish and milk
Vitamins B, including B2, B6 and B12 are very good at preventing or removing stress. These vitamins are present in tuna and milk. Do not forget to add these foods into the daily menu of your family, to be free from stress.

4. Sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are particularly particularly useful for stress reduction. They come handy in satisfying the urge for carbohydrates and sweets when we are under a great deal of stress. Instead of reaching for a donut, eat one of these. They are full of beta-carotene and other vitamins, and the fibre helps your body to process the carbohydrates in a slow and steady manner.

5. Water:
This is a very efficient but cheap way to reduce stress successfully. Unfortunately, many people are oblivious of this magical way. How does water help us to release stress? Water is a very important substance in the body's metabolism, which helps our body to release many poisonous substances that can cause stress.

Foods high level protein, like eggs, milk and meat, are very good for your health because protein is one of the basic compositions of cells. However, eating too many foods like that in a day can lead to problems in digestion and cause a lot of inconvenience. Therefore, before deciding to eat any food, you should pay attention to defining the amount that would be reasonable for your body.

In order to remove stress from your body, you should not only pay attention to foods that can help you release stress, you should also avoid foods that can bring you stress. These include stimulants like coffee, alcohol and cigarettes.