“Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food.” This famous quote was spoken around 400 BC by Hippocrates. Although I do not believe food is medicine, I do think that food is medicine, like in nature. It seems more relevant today than at any other time in history.
Stress can be challenging to define because of its complexity. Some may define stress as mental or emotional strain due to conflicting or taxing life circumstances (Newbegin, 2014).
There are several evidence-based ways to combat stress. Still, one critical way most conventional practices miss is the power of certain foods and beverages that may have stress-mitigating attributions. Although this is an incomplete list, here are five powerful stress-mitigating foods and drinks you can add to your diet during stressful times.
1. Matcha powder/tea
Matcha powder is a vibrant green powder rich in L-theanine, a non-protein amino acid with powerful stress-busting properties. Studies show it may also help benefit heart health, weight management, and other health aspects due to its rich antioxidant content. Matcha is a better source of the amino acid L-theanine than other green tea types (Unno et al., 2018).
L-theanine had a more significant effect on mental task completion compared to consuming caffeine while positively affecting blood pressure and showed overwhelming benefits by showing a decreased tension-anxiety score compared with placebo, indicating the anti-anxiolytic (less drowsiness or dizziness) effects of L-theanine (Wang et al., 2022).
2. Kimchi
Kimchi is a fermented Korean ethnic food typically made with Chinese (Napa) cabbage and radish, known as daikon, with lactic acid bacteria. Kimchi is known to be packed with beneficial bacteria (probiotics) and a lofty amount of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (Yang et al., 2018). Studies have revealed that fermented foods may help lessen stress while showing beneficial effects on mental health caused by the natural probiotics associated with kimchi. Studies have also linked the interaction of healthy gut bacteria with positive effects on mood (Aslam et al., 2018) (Berding et al., 2022).
3. Fatty fish
Healthy cold-water fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel are incredibly rich in omega-3 fats, which are crucial for mood and brain health and may also help your body handle stress efficiently. The vitamin D found in fatty fish is shown in studies to help reduce stress and improve mood while reducing depression in adults. It is also critical in mental health and stress regulation (Appleton et al., 2021).
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (N-3 PUFA) supplementation mediates stress-induced mood, cognition, and physiological stress response changes. However, this study found that omega-3 (fish oil) supplementation did little to negate impairments in mood, emotion-related cognitive processing, and physiological stress markers, including cortisol (Giles et al., 2015).
4. Dark chocolate
Studies have shown that people (significantly more in females than males) who consumed either dark or milk chocolate lowered their stress by two to three points. In these studies, it was identified that cocoa polyphenols were the ingredient that reduced stress in both highly stressed and normal healthy individuals, so this study was conducted (Al Sunni & Latif, n.d.) (Samanta et al., 2022).
5. Chamomile tea
Chamomile is a medicinal botanical herb used in traditional medicine and has been used as a natural stress reducer in Greece, Rome, and Egypt since ancient times. Its leaves and extract have been shown to promote better sleep while reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression and treat stomach problems, cramps, dermatitis, and minor infections (Dai et al., 2022).
The bottom line
Your diet and the nutrients you consume can significantly affect your mood and may help reduce stress levels. Foods and drinks like matcha powder, cold-water fatty fish, kimchi, dark chocolate, and chamomile tea can significantly reduce stress markers while improving mood and decreasing anxiety and depression.
References
Al Sunni, A., & Latif, R. (2014 Oct). Effects of chocolate intake on perceived stress; a controlled clinical study. Int J Health Sci (Qassim), 8(4), 393–401. Retrieved January 8, 2024, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4350893/
Appleton, K. M., Voyias, P. D., Sallis, H. M., Dawson, S., Ness, A. R., Churchill, R., & Perry, R. (2021). Omega-3 fatty acids for depression in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2021(11). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd004692.pub5
Aslam, H., Green, J., Jacka, F. N., Collier, F., Berk, M., Pasco, J., & Dawson, S. L. (2018). Fermented foods, the gut and mental health: A mechanistic overview with implications for depression and anxiety. Nutritional Neuroscience, 23(9), 659–671. https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415x.2018.1544332
Berding, K., Bastiaanssen, T. S., Moloney, G. M., Boscaini, S., Strain, C. R., Anesi, A., Long-Smith, C., Mattivi, F., Stanton, C., Clarke, G., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2022). Feed your microbes to deal with stress: A psychobiotic diet impacts microbial stability and perceived stress in a healthy adult population. Molecular Psychiatry, 28(2), 601–610. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01817-y
Dai, Y.-L., Li, Y., Wang, Q., Niu, F.-J., Li, K.-W., Wang, Y.-Y., Wang, J., Zhou, C.-Z., & Gao, L.-N. (2022). Chamomile: A review of its traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities and quality control studies. Molecules, 28(1), 133. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28010133
Giles, G. E., Mahoney, C. R., Urry, H. L., Brunyé, T. T., Taylor, H. A., & Kanarek, R. B. (2015). Omega-3 fatty acids and stress-induced changes to mood and cognition in healthy individuals. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 132, 10–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2015.02.018
Newbegin, C. (2014). The stress epidemic. InnovAiT: Education and inspiration for general practice, 8(1), 36–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/1755738014558467
Samanta, S., Sarkar, T., Chakraborty, R., Rebezov, M., Shariati, M., Thiruvengadam, M., & Rengasamy, K. R. (2022). Dark chocolate: An overview of its biological activity, processing, and fortification approaches. Current Research in Food Science, 5, 1916–1943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crfs.2022.10.017
Unno, K., Furushima, D., Hamamoto, S., Iguchi, K., Yamada, H., Morita, A., Horie, H., & Nakamura, Y. (2018). Stress-reducing function of matcha green tea in animal experiments and clinical trials. Nutrients, 10(10), 1468. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10101468
Wang, L., Brennan, M., Li, S., Zhao, H., Lange, K. W., & Brennan, C. (2022). How does the tea l-theanine buffer stress and anxiety. Food Science and Human Wellness, 11(3), 467–475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fshw.2021.12.004
Yang, S.-J., Lee, J.-E., Lim, S.-M., Kim, Y.-J., Lee, N.-K., & Paik, H.-D. (2018). Antioxidant and immune-enhancing effects of probiotic lactobacillus plantarum 200655 isolated from kimchi.Food Science and Biotechnology,28(2), 491–499.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-018-0473-3
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