Many folks have contacted me recently and said that they were really struggling with stress.
My answer to them is that you are not alone.
Stress… who doesn’t have that in their life at some time or other?
Stress is commonly known as the Silent Killer.
No one is immune from the day-to-day stresses that occur in our lives. Stresses can be anything from someone cutting us off in traffic, to work-related stresses, to the loss of a close friend or relative.
We may not be able to prevent ourselves or our loved ones from being affected by daily stresses, but we can choose how we react to them, and how our body is able to handle them.
Taking yoga, doing deep breathing, and exercising are all wonderful ways that can help someone to handle stress more effectively.
My daughter sent me this TED video, “How to make stress your friend” by Kelly McGonigal, and it is fantastic. This talk addresses stress and how we think of stress and it’s effects on our life and health.
Click Here for the link. I highly recommend watching it. I found it very enlightening.
Being a health counselor and nutritionist, I understand that most people these days need some help once in a while with boosting our mood, reducing and handling stress more effectively, or overcoming depression. There are a number of foods and supplements that can help reduce the effects of stress on our health, help us to sleep better, and fight depression.
I recommend always buying organic, non-GMO foods when possible, because they will have a much higher nutrient content, and less chemical toxins for your body. Eating a more plant-based diet is recommended.
Avoiding processed or restaurant foods, as well as the use of antibiotics (that can be unknowingly contributing to anxiety or depression) is recommended.
A few supplements you can take are complex amino acids. Amino acids (including L-tryptophan, N-A-C (N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine), L-Theanine), are good because they are the “building blocks of proteins,” and without a wide array of them in our diets, we can’t even survive, let alone thrive.
One reason we are depleted in some of these complex amino acids is because the herbicide, called Round-Up Ready
(containing glyphosate), which is used on most food crops, blocks some of these complex amino acids, and therefore we are not able to obtain it from our food.
L-Tryptophan (also called tryptophan) is one of these important complex amino acids that may be depleted or missing from most of the populations of the world.
L- Tryptophan is a natural mood regulator. L-Tryptophan helps the body produce and balance certain hormones naturally. Supplementing with tryptophan-rich foods (Organic, Non-GMO: poultry, beef, sprouted beans, sprouted lentils, sprouted pumpkin and sunflower seeds, chia seeds, sprouted buckwheat, sprouted oats, and eggs) or taking supplements helps bring on natural calming effects, induces sleep, fights anxiety and can also help burn more body fat.
L-Tryptophan has also been found to stimulate the release of growth hormones, reduce food cravings for carbohydrates, and help kick a sugar addiction in some cases.
An important byproduct of L-Tryptophan is 5HTP (5-hyrdoxytryptophan), which works in the brain and central nervous system to boost feelings of well-being, connection and safety.
