yoga

41

december 2018 / january 2019

yogajournal.com.sg

eat

WELL

ISTOCKPH

OTO.C

OM/VIKTOR LUGOVSKOY

eat happy

Food and mood are intimately

connected. Here’s how to pick the

best foods to help you fight your

stress—and put a smile back on your

face.

AS A NUTRITIONIST, I know that mostpeople are feeling

stressed out from trying to balance too much—work,

school, family, finances, health, friendships, etc. With so

much on their plate, it’s hard to even focus on their diet.

But what you eat—and how you eat it—can have a

major impact on how well you can cope with the demands

of life. Proper dietary choices can stress-proof the body for

better resilience over the long haul. Food is also a great

first-line strategy for coping in those moments when you are

truly in a tizzy.

My medical and sports nutrition training explains the

cycle of stress as an up-and-down roller coaster ride in which

cortisol, adrenaline, and blood sugar levels keep us cycling

through peaks of overdrive and the valleys of depletion.

Drawing on conventional Western wisdom, I work to help

my clients escape from exacerbating factors (too many

refined carbs, too much caffeine) and introduce a more

healthful mix of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates to their

diet.

But there’s more to consider. Even if you’re eating what

the Western medical community would consider a paper-

perfect diet, you may not be getting the full stress-relieving

benefit that food can offer. In fact, if you’re eating well, but

eating the wrong foods for your personal constitution, you

may actually be making things worse.