Good food habits can bring about significant stress relief. Most of your stress is often attributable to taking wrong foods. Stress relief and food habits form a vicious circle-the more bad foods you take, the more you get stressed up. When gulping down your burger or your pizza or sipping your cup of hot coffee, did you ever realize that you are yourself contributing to your own strain? Read on to know more.



The Stress Builders

Stress relief is mostly hampered by our foods we like most. Check out:

* After a hectic day out, you like relaxing over a cup of hot coffee or tea.

* A chocolate or few pegs of wine unwind you after a strenuous workout.

* In the supermarket, the packet of chips or the plate of processed food lures you.

* You skip a breakfast and overeat later.

When taking this foodstuff, satisfaction and stress relief was uppermost in your mind. What you got instead was more stress. Coffee, tea, sodas, chocolates contain caffeine which triggers release of cortisol, the stress hormone. This sets in more anxiety and lowers your concentration levels and disturbs your sleep. Total caffeine restriction may lead to withdrawal symptoms, so gradual reduction of caffeine containing foods can better your stress management. Give it a start.

You crave for more sugar when worked out. A hasty intake of sugar calls for hectic insulin activity. The effect is short lived. You get irritated and depressed at times. There is no effective stress relief. On the contrary, excessive insulin activity eventually lowers insulin levels resulting in diabetic conditions. Sugar to drive away your stress is an absolute no-no.

If sugar is bad, salt is no good either. Salts raise blood pressure and high blood pressures may lead to strokes. Excess salt intake makes you all the more emotional. Fat and salt are the worst offenders in building stress. Fatty foods make you obese. You lose your agility and feel let down. This can affect your cardiovascular systems. For getting true relief from stress, stay miles away from salty and fatty foods.

The Stress Busters

Stress relief can be best achieved through intake of good and healthy food. Try carbohydrates, whole grains, plenty of vegetables and fruits. Studies have shown that these foods boost release of brain neurotransmitter serotonin. Dubbed as the 'happy hormone', it makes you cheerful and lively. Your anxieties and worries are set to rest. The saying goes that a cup of rice or spaghetti or a baked potato can cool you down after a tiresome day. Get the best in stress relief with these good foods.

Let the good foods knock out the bad ones from your life and help you to get real stress relief.

Summary

For effective stress relief, you should phase out foods and beverages containing excessive sugar, salt, fats and caffeine and go for more carbohydrates, grains, vegetables and fruits. The later varieties induce release of 'happy hormones' that help you to control stress and live cheerfully.