Stress management

Are you anxious all the time ?
Are you tired, feel exhausted?
Are you having mood swings?
Are you suffering from insomnia or over sleeping?
Are you dealing with constipation or diarrhea?
Are you craving for sweet or salty?
Are you having difficulties for focusing?
Are you having memory problem?
This list goes on.. If you are answering "yes" most of the questions above, then you're really stressed, and those are the signs show that your body needs help for dealing stress.

During our busy life schedule, it is not easy to stay away from all the stress we encounter. When we are stressed, body (adrenal glands which located over your kidneys) responds with releasing adrenaline and cortisol hormone . Adrenaline works in short time period, while cortisol works in long term.
Cortisol and adrenaline also known "fight or flight" hormone. The fight or flight response
is designed to help you when dealing with danger. Result of that, your heart rate increases, high level oxygen and glucose are sent to your muscles, you'll sweat more and breath faster. Your blood sugar also goes up, and your liver releases stored glucose ( glycogen) into the blood stream.

All of these and many other complex changes occur usually in a second. When you prevent the car accident by stopping suddenly, you never think your reflex or responds. When the danger is over, biochemicals due to stress used up, and body turns normal equilibrium. The problem starts when the stress prolonged which you can not immediately deal with or you can not prevent . After the hormonal response to that prolonged stress, you'll end up with high blood pressure, high blood glucose, fatigue, and depression.
Well balanced diet will help you to reduce stress symptoms. Certain foods and drinks ( my elixir is a potent anti-stressor,see in drink section ) act as powerful stimulants for your body . In stress management concept ,you can not separate; the food you eat ( big part ), mediation ,yoga, regular cardio exercise, and regular detox programs.

Here are the list of foods and drinks make you more stressful and more tired.


--- ALCOHOL : Alcohol is one of the major cause of stress. It's a big dilemma, because most of the people are drinking alcohol as a way of dealing stress.Alcohol stimulates the secretion of adrenaline that cause for irritability and sleep problems. Excess alcohol increases fat deposit in liver and heart, also depresses the immune responds. Alcohol also decreases liver function, and liver can not remove toxic waste materials. Accumulation of this toxins in body results serious disease.

--- FATTY FOODS : Avoid the consumption of saturated fats, such as animal foods, fried foods, everyday junk foods. Excess fat put extra stress on your cardiovascular system. No high fat diets ! You can end up with myocard infarction ( heart attack )or atherosclerosis ( clog of arteries ). Don't avoid the good fat foods such as nuts and avocados.
--- RED MEAT : So many reasons not to eat red meat. High fat content gives extra stress for your heart and arteries. Animal fat elevates your cholesterol and number one reason for cardiac diseases and atherosclerosis related problems ( high blood pressure, embolies, heart attack, stroke ). Also high protein content of red meat elevates brain neurotransmitter such as dopamine and norepinephrine , which are strongly associate with anxiety and stress.
--- PROCESSED FOOD : White flour products (breads, pastries, cookies) can put the body on stress, because they are very low in nutritional value and high in calories. When you are digesting them, your body needs to use your own vitamins. Choose brown or wild rice over white rice, whole grain over white flour bread. Try different kind of grains which provide more nutrients such as rye, barley, buckwheat,quinoa ,millet..
--- SWEET AND SALTY FOOD : Sugar has no essential nutrients. It provides short term energy, then you feel exhaustion and poor concentration. High sugar content food consumption also increases chance of developing diabetes ( puts lots of stress on your pancreas )
Salt, increases the blood pressure. Avoid the foods, high in sodium, such as bacon, pickles, sausages !!
If you don't put them in your daily diet regimen ( ignore them just couple weeks ), you'll never crave or want them again when you' re hungry.
--- COW MILK : Animal products are very hard to digest in our system. Our body designs mainly eat vegetables and fruits. Not just digestive difficulties , cow's milk can crate other problems too, they carry antibiotics, pesticides ( with their diet ), and diseases ( brucellosis etc ). Choose plant or grain base milk ( soy, almond.. )
--- CAFFEINE : This can find in coffee, tea, cola, chocolate etc. Consuming too much caffeine has the same affect as long term stress. It causes release of adrenaline, increases level of stress. 
I think, I don't need to explain this one..These are simply chemicals, they are not food or ingredients. Be aware of all of  them!!

Besides eating right, your biggest weapons for stress management will be:

-- “Mother Nature”. Go take a walk, run or bicycle in the nature, realize flowers around you, stop for just a smell a rose, realize fall colors on the trees, snow sculpture on the branches, mushrooms under the trees, watch animals and their life cycle, listen the birds..Nature will prepare the most relaxing environment for you. Spring is on the way, be ready for gardening..

-- Cardio exercise. It’s another great way to dissolve your worries and stress. Every day at least 45 minutes you have to move, sweat and release your mind. If it’s too hard to start for you, do something you may like,dance with your favorite music, jump on trampoline,do hula hooping , etc. Besides cardio exercise, your day must fill with other activities, such as gardening, walking (at least 15 minutes every day), cleaning, stair climbing, cooking.. Whatever you do don’t sit on a couch front of television, find stuff to keep you busy and be active all the time.Psychical activities keep your mind awake, relax and calm.

-- Meditation. It will help you to understand inner piece and outer world. Some people can meditate when they are walking; some they need a special place. Find your way to meditate and learn to relax your mind.

-- Singing a song.. It’s a huge help to relieve for stress. Find your favorite album, sing and dance, actually you can go wild; until feel relax.

-- Think positive. Sometimes stressful situations give different options to you. Be calm, think logically, and find another way out. There is always so many other ways to solve your problem, just change your point of view.

-- Do not change your eating habit when you are in stressful situation. Ice cream or chocolate will not help you to solve your situation, instead make you tired and exhausted after awhile. Do not punish yourself, if you gain 10 pounds this period of time, you’ll end up with more problem, struggling with losing weight, which makes you more depress then before.

-- Laugh as much as you can. Laughing will work miracle to relax you. Don’t miss opportunity to laugh during the day. Laughing also give positive energy to others, too. 

Building a strong immune system will help to fight off infections-disease and stressful condition. The biggest enemy for healthy immune system would be sedentary life style. If you sit at a desk all day, your immune system starts to feeling sluggish. Moderate daily exercise like 30 minutes brisk walk can make a big difference, increases leucocyte level which these cells fight with infections and diseases.

Here is the immune booster food list for your balanced diet :

- Garlic
- Green tea
- Maitake mushroom
- Yogurt
- Vitamin C, D, E
- Elderberry

Laughing also is a immune booster, too.
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