11 Natural Food Items for Stress Relief

11 Natural Food Items for Stress Relief

People experience stress due to top reasons such as job pressure, money, health, relationships, media overload, sleep deprivation and poor nutrition.  According to a study conducted by American Psychological Association, American Institute of Stress, NY, 51% respondents say that stress results in fatigue, 44%  headache, 34% upset stomach, 30% muscle tension, 23& change in appetite, 17% teeth grinding, 15% change in sex drive and 13% feeling dizzy. All of the changes are directly or indirectly related to nutrition. Whenever you are stressed, you will not only hamper yourself but also torture others.

To fight stress, you must keep your body healthy and make it resistible to harmful effects related to stress. To help your body work more efficiently, you have to have a proper balanced diet. Consuming foods that are high in fiber and protein, low in fat and very easy to digest will be a great choice to combat stress. Medically concentrating, whenever you experience a stress response, your hormones are secreted at abnormal levels. This brought changes to the system of your body resulting in the mutability in the body functions. Such hormones are released by the adrenal glands located above each of your kidneys to respond to stressful events.

The work functions of the hormones are depended upon the condition of the body and thus, stress and anxiety controls the system. Since poor nutrition is one of the top reasons behind stress, then you can have stress relief by simply improving your dietary pattern. We have presented you a list of 11 natural food items for stress relief and by eating these; you can feel the changes in you.

1. Avocado

Avocado for Stress Relief

For healthy nerves and brain cells, human body needs B vitamins because the feelings of anxiety are associated with the deficiency of Vitamin B. To relive stress, avocado is one of the best fruits because they are high in monounsaturated fat and potassium that helps in lowering blood pressure. You can always go for a non-dairy DIY version prepared with avocado, ripe banana, nonnutritive sweetener, vanilla extract and nut milk.

Avocado is also very rich in glutathione that blocks intestinal absorption of some fats as some fats causes oxidative damage. Stress gives up hypertension and to fight against this, potassium and fats are really important because they decrease the level of blood pressure. Avocados are highly beneficial as they are rich in 14 minerals and essential fatty acids. They are further more advantages of avocado such as enhancing immunity, regulation of hormonal activity and maximizing cell production. You can also absorb a lot of vitamins and minerals after eating avocado.

2. Tea

Tea for Stress Relief

According to a study conducted by Dr Malcolm Cross at City University London, it is suggested that a single cup of tea is very helpful to reduce the level of anxiety which is a result of stress. As a finding of the research, 25% of the respondents showed increase in anxiety and they belonged to the category who did not drink tea immediately after experiencing stress. On the contrary, 4% reduction in stress was recorded among those who drank tea after experiencing stress.

Tea is a gentle relaxant enough to act as a nerve tonic. The ingredient of tea is really complex because it has many of such. The ingredients including flavonoids, catechins, polyhenols and amino acids in tea have effects on neurotransmitters in the brain. Tea have greater effect in bringing the hormone levels affected by stress to the normality. Tea is also helpfgul in fighting against cancer, heart diseases and diabetes. Further, it encourages weight loss, lower cholesterol and bring mental awareness helping to reduce stress.

3. Fatty Fish

Fatty Fish for Stress Relief

Whenever, you are stressed, and then you are not cool like before. To recover you level of coolness, you can have heart-healthy omega-3 fats and these are found in fishes such as salmon, sardines and tuna. These ingredients will help you manage your adrenaline levels to the normal and keep you calm. Many individuals suffering from stress experience a multitude of symptoms such as migraine headache, body cramps and pain and this might be due to the negligence of the individuals to intake omega-3 essential fatty acids. It is essential to have fatty fish in their diet regimen to reduce the stress levels.

4. Whole-Wheat Pretzels

Whole-Wheat Pretzels for Stress Relief

To be healthy and stress free, you need to have your brain released a chemical called serotonin and this you can have after eating carbohydrate-rich foods. It gives you energy and triggers the brain to release the chemical. Along with it, the whole-wheat pretzels like brad, crackers, cereals and pretzels provide fibers important for your body.

5. Carrots

Carrots for Stress Relief

You can reduce your stress by munching on crunchy foods. Carrots are rich in nutrients and this vegetable offer crispiness and at the same time, give you many calories. A research conducted by Ray Peat suggested that a raw carrot can lower anti-thyroid and inflammatory substances if in daily basis. It also reduces liver burden and liver to detoxify endotoxin and estrogen. It also contains fibers and eliminate hormones like histamine, lower serotonin and estrogen that lowers catabolic stress hormone. A carrot salad is very useful in natural detoxification process as well.


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6. Milk

Milk for Stress Relief

To reduce stress, you really need to have more Vitamin b, protein, Vitamin D and calcium. The intake of these nutrients will make you to relieve from tensed muscles. But you have to stick with low-fat milk or other varieties of skimmed milk. To reduce stress, you require a good sleep and to get a good sleep, drink a glass of milk right before going to the bed. High in antioxidants, protein, calcium and vitamins B2 and B12, milk help you to fight against the stress. In every start of a day, it is recommended to take a bowl of whole-grain cereal and low-fat milk as it works as a stress-fighting breakfast and makes your day stress free.

7. Yogurt

Yogurt for Stress Relief

You must have been an ice-cream lover for years and you might be wondering to have an alternative to it to reduce stress. If this is the condition, then you can opt for yogurt.

8. Nuts

Nuts for Stress Relief

Many times, stress pushes you to some kind of sickness and this can be possible if your immune system is really weak. It is very important to have your immune system stronger. Foods such as pistachios, almonds and walnuts are high in vitamins and zinc that can boost your immune system.

9. Chocolate

Chocolate for Stress Relief

Chocolate, especially dark chocolates lower the levels of stress hormones and on top; it contains a kind of sugar of carbohydrate which releases mood-improving serotonin. The improved mood ultimately helps in stress management.

10. Asparagus

Asparagus for Stress Relief

For the stress management, stabilizing the mood is very important and this can be done by consuming green vegetables. Green veggie like asparagus is very rich in folic acid and helps in stabilizing the mood. Whenever an individual is stressed then the body releases hormone that affects the mood. To make the mood steady, eating certain vitamins and minerals like folic acid and Vitamin B are important as they can make serotonin. Serotonin is the chemical that directs the mood positively.

11. Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes for Stress Relief

Whenever you are under stressful events then you most of the times crave for carbohydrates and sweets and you can quench this crave by eating sweet potatoes   and they are particularly stress-reducing. They contain beta-carotene and other vitamins along with fibers that helps in reducing stress

Thank you to all the readers of this article. If we miss anything do let us know so we can add more items into the list.

About Saikrishna Tipparapu



  1. Stress is one of the most common things that happen in our lives these days. Given the nature of our lives, the lifestyle, eating habits etc. it is not harder for us to get stressed. Improving our eating habits is surely a must. Thanks for these suggestions!

    • Glad to know the article is useful for you Sheeba and It’s a very long time to see you back on one of my sites. Seems to be your very busy this days 😉
      Have a Wonderful day and enjoy the first visit on the blog 🙂

  2. Going natural is always great even if it is not for stress management. That said, many people consume pills to reduce stress – even though they seemingly control stress the pills will surely induce some nasty side effects. But with “natural” food items, that is not the case 🙂 Nice list.

    • I agree with you Lisa 🙂 Having pills can cause many side effects in the future and I’m glad to make you find this article useful.
      Thank you.

  3. Tea, avocado and fish are my favorite by far. We can mentally perform so much better if we improve our eating habits..

  4. I like your article because everything in your article about stress relief food items is true. I also prefer chocolates & nuts to get relief from stress. Eating a moderate amount of dark chocolate every day can help to reduce the hormones in your body that make you feel stressed.

  5. Agree all that stuff! Whenever I feel stressed out I always have dark chocolate or green coffee, but now i’ll try other stuff too. I’d like to add more to it, though they are stress busters they’re also good for health.

  6. So what kind of tea exactly should we drink?


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