The 10 Best Stress Relieving Foods

Feeling stressed? Get some exercise! It's one of nature's most underutilized activities and perhaps one of the most effective and natural stress reducers. Studies consistently indicate that exercise is a helpful tool for alleviating stress and improving overall mood.^[1]

However, exercise is only one component of a healthy lifestyle. Your diet also plays an important role in how your body reacts to stress. While a healthy diet devoid of processed foods is ideal for promoting good health, some foods are better than others in the way they combat stress.

Stress Relieving Foods

Below are the top 10 best stress-relieving foods that can easily be incorporated into any diet.

1. Dark Chocolate

Commonly seen as comfort food, chocolate's sweet and bold flavors are enjoyed by millions of people every day. It turns out that science actually supports chocolate as a stress-relieving, mood-boosting food. Chocolate is a beneficial food that may reduce stress hormones. People who rated themselves as being highly stressed experienced a significant drop in stress hormone levels after eating dark-chocolate over a two week period. The amount of dark chocolate consumed during this study was 1.4 ounces per day, or a little over half a pound per week.^[2] Make sure you choose organic, high-cacao varieties.

2. Walnuts

One of the physiological symptoms of stress is hypertension, or high blood pressure.^[3] The abundance of alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid in walnuts promotes a healthy blood pressure^{[4, 5]} while the polyunsaturated fatty acids support healthy blood circulation and cardiovascular response to acute stress.^[6]

3. Avocado

Avocados are naturally high in B vitamins, which play an important role in your nervous system. B vitamins promote healthy nerve and brain cells, ensuring they function properly. They also reduce stress and promote healthy brain function and mental wellness.^{[7, 8]} Avocados are also naturally high in monounsaturated fat, a healthy oil, and potassium, both of which help lower blood pressure.^{[9, 10]}

4. Garlic

Garlic lowers cortisol levels, preventing unhealthy stress responses. Sulfuric metabolites in garlic, such as allicin, have also been associated with healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, and cardiovascular protection.^[11]

5. Figs

Fresh or dried figs offer a potent source of essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. As a bioavailable source of potassium, calcium, and magnesium, figs offer nutrients necessary for maintaining healthy blood pressure and muscle function. The antioxidants in figs have the potential for protecting against oxidative stress, a type of stress that is made worse by poor diet, environmental pollution, and tobacco use.^[12]

6. Oatmeal

Natural rolled and steel cut oats provide a high-quality source of fiber, a non-digestible carbohydrate necessary for digestion and satiation. The complex carbohydrates found in oatmeal encourage healthy serotonin levels, which may even improve your mood.^[13]

7. Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds, an autumn favorite, may provide stress-relieving benefits through their high levels of various nutrients, like omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, zinc, and potassium. Pumpkin seeds also have high phenolic levels, and research indicates that phenols promote antioxidant activity. Antioxidants have the potential to control glucose absorption in cells, as well as protect against hypertension.^[14]

8. Swiss Chard

This dark-green leafy vegetable is packed with essential fat-soluble vitamins (A, C, E, and K) as well as minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium. Chard also contains a specific class of antioxidants known as betalains. These compounds have been found to protect the body against high blood sugar and high blood pressure, two conditions commonly associated with stress.^[15]

9. Dulse Seaweed

Similar to swiss chard, dulse seaweed offers a high-quality source of nutrients and antioxidants. In addition to essential vitamins and minerals, dulse also contains iodine. Necessary for thyroid health, iodine is required by the thyroid gland for the proper production and regulation of hormones. Considered to be a superfood, this purple sea vegetable may help fight the effects of stress by maintaining proper hormone levels within the body.

10. Citrus Fruits

Aromatherapy has promoted citrus scents for centuries as a natural means to relax. Not only can the aroma of citrus fruits, like oranges and grapefruit, provide a relaxing effect, its natural vitamin C content may also provide additional benefit. One study evaluated the physiological impact of vitamin C in obese children suffering from mental stress. A specific concern of these patients was their blood pressure. Results showed that this high-risk group experienced a blood pressure reduction to levels much more consistent with lean children experiencing little to no stress.^[16]

How Do You Relieve Stress?