Tension has become a part of our daily routine. Tension at work, tension at home , tension in school –even young people and children are tensed most of the times in the modern fast and materialistic society. Continuous tension affects our health and immune system to a great extent. Our immune system becomes weak and we fall ill quite often. Research has found that whenever we are tensed –Cortisol level increases in our body. This increased Cortisol causes tension and related diseases. Cortisol has been termed as the “Stress Hormone” . A small level of it is good and once it has increased , it should come to normal after sometime. But if we are under continuous stress, it becomes chronic and is very harmful.
But nature has given us such fruits and vegetables etc which
reduce the level of Cortisol in our body and thus reduce the tension naturally
to keep us fit. Here is the list of 12 such foods that you should include in
your and your children’s diet to automatically keep tension under control:
1
)
Milk : A
glass of milk before bed is good to relieve tension. It contains anti-oxidants
that help destroy free radicals associated with stress. If you do not like
milk, you can take it in another form like curd , custard, Paneer, Kheer,
flavoured milk or shakes etc.
2
)
Almonds
:
Just a handful of almonds everyday in your diet will boost your immunity and
thus help relieve the stress. Soaked and peeled almonds are good to eat rather
than salty or plain almonds.
3
)
Bananas:
These are rich in Potassium and minerals that help to reduce tension. Always
eat ripe bananas.
4
)
Berries
& Oranges
: All types of berries like Blue Berry , Straw berry, Raspberries
and oranges are rich in Vitamin C . This helps reduce the Blood Pressure and
makes you calm. You feel relaxed and stress free.
5
)
Garlic: It
is rich in anti-oxidants which neutralize the free radicals.
6
)
Spinach :
It is packed with Magnesium , the mineral that helps to control the Cortisol
level. If you do not like spinach, mash the spinach and add to the flour before
making Chapatis. You would see that children will like this green nutritious
chapattis. You can mash any other vegetables also without the kids knowing it
and they will get god mineral supplement.
7
)
Walnuts
& Cashews
: Wlnuts contain Omega-3 fatty acids and other anti-oxidants to make you health
and stress free.
Cashews are rich in Zinc. Since our body has no way of
storing zinc , it is important to get some of it every day. Low level of zinc
is responsible for anxiety.
8
)
Cornflakes
: These are fortified with Vitamin B and Folic Acid which also reduce tension.
9
)
Oatmeal :
These help to relieve tension by introducing a hormone Serotonic.
10)
Dark Chocolates
: They have two anti-oxidants (Polyphenol and Flavonols) whch make you feel
calm. So you can eat dark chocolates once in a week.
11)
Broccoli : The folic acid present in Broccoli
is very useful to help relieve stress.
12)
Fish : If
you are non-vegetarian fish is a very good food to reduce stress. The Omega -3
fatty acids present in fish is very helpful in relieving body as it reduces the
Cortisol level.
So , friends make it a habit to include these items in your
daily diet.
Note : You should also do some workouts/Yoga etc to relieve
your body. Deep breathing is very helpful in
reducing stress and tension.