If you’re like most people, your anxiety level has gone up lately -- perhaps way up. And chances are, you’ve seen what social media is advocating as a solution: #stressbaking -- with thousands of pictures and recipes for cakes, cookies, pies and other sugar-filled treats.
Although lab studies indicate that sugar does temporarily cool your body’s stress response by suppressing your ability to crank out adrenalin in the long run, sweet treats interfere with self-regulation of emotions, and increase chronic inflammation and boost your risk for many physical and mental health conditions (which can make you very nervous). Plus, a typical Western diet, with lots of added sugars, leads to a 25% to 35% greater risk of depression (anxiety’s kissin’ cousin) than a Mediterranean or Japanese diet does.
So if you want to eat your way to true calmness, we’ve got some foods and spices that’ll do the trick.
-- Probiotic foods, such as sauerkraut, kefir, yogurt and kimchi, may quiet social anxiety, according to a study in the journal Psychiatric Research.
-- Omega-3-rich foods like salmon and sardines also may help. A 12-week study that administered 2.5g a day of the omega-3s DHA and EPA to med students found it reduced their anxiety by 20%.
-- Foods loaded with specific polyphenols are thought to help relieve anxiety by helping protect brain neurons. Beans, nuts (especially walnuts), vegetables and berries deliver substantial doses.
-- And then there’s dark chocolate. A study in the International Journal of Health Sciences found it lowers perceived stress significantly. Ommm my, that’s tasty.
The power of moms to help their children stay heart-healthy
Meg Tilly (“The Big Chill”) opted out of the limelight while raising her children. As she told People magazine, she wanted to “make sure they had a hot breakfast every morning.” That protected her kids from the often-harmful glare of celebrity and long-distance parenting.
But moms like YOU can make an even greater difference in your children’s future. A study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology shows that grown children of moms who followed a truly heart-healthy lifestyle are free of cardiovascular disease for nine to 10 years longer than offspring whose moms had moderately or very unhealthy habits.
A child’s premature heart risk may start in utero from genetic factors or exposure to mom’s obesity, smoking, poor nutrition, etc. But even if you made mistakes while pregnant or have a familial risk for heart woes, healthy choices you make for yourself while your children are young translate into their improved heart health when they’re grown up.
Rate your lifestyle. How many of these goals have you achieved: not smoking; healthy diet; physically active; a normal body mass index; and healthy blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and blood glucose levels? None to two -- your grown offspring are most at risk for early heart disease. Three to four puts your adult children at intermediate risk. Hit four or five? You’re what the researchers call ideal -- and so are the chances for your children’s long-term heart health! So if you aren’t motivated to upgrade your lifestyle for your own well-being, do it for your growing children!
