Stress and Survival
Our body/mind connection is a wondrous thing. Feel pain, stress, anxiety? Your body/mind wants chocolate, ice cream, pizza.
Trading a bad feeling for a pleasurable experience is the body/mind turning on the survival mode. Chronic stress or pain depletes our energy reserves and that loss of engery signals the body/mind to build back the reserves. Sugar is a quick rush for the adrenals, releases the feel good chemical serotonin and tells us we'll be ok.
Unfortunately, the bad feelings release cortisol and cortisol ensures survival by sending those comfort food calories to the belly. Poor nutrient quality foods compound the problems and we pack on the pounds to weather the hardships.
Our brains don't know the difference between the fear of a wild boar clipping our heels or a power tripping boss biting our heads. It does know that it must survive by keeping the body functioning. Our ancestors burned a lot of calories running from the wild boar but we get little when we go back to our desk and stew over a bad employer.
Foods that Comfort and Heal
Still that survival mode stress must be soothed. The good news is there are a lot of foods you can eat to shut down the cortisol and crank up the serotonin. Here are two recipes each in four stress busting categories, Omega 3, Tryptophan, Serotonin and Tyrosine, guaranteed to heal your mind and mood.
1. Omega 3 rich foods feed the brain and relieve depression
Indian Tuna Dip
1 6oz can of albacore tuna
3 T thinly chopped sweet onion
3 T thinly chopped celery
1/2 finely chopped, seeded tomato
2 T plain yogurt
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 t ground turmeric
Spirulina Guacamole Sandwich
1 avocado - 1/2 cubed - 1/2 mashed
2 T spirulina
1/4 C thinly chopped sweet onion
1 small finely chopped, seeded tomato
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1/8 C chopped parsley (don't leave this out!)
Pinch garlic salt
1/2 t ground cumin
1-2 T lemon juice
Mix gently, refrigerator for 30 minutes to blend flavors, spoon in pita bread halves.
2. Tryptophan, an amino acid, works as a natural sedative
Turkey Ball Pasta
1/2 lb. ground turkey
1/2 - 2/3 C crushed whole wheat crackers
1/4 C grated Romano cheese
1/4 finely chopped green pepper
1/4 finely copped sweet onion.
Pinch of garlic salt
Pinch of black pepper
1/2 C cooked elbows, manicotti, penne or rigatoni pasta
6 oz. prepeared pasta sauce
Mix all ingredients except the pasta sauce, place small shaped balls in a light oiled pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Heat the pasta and sauce in a pan and spoon over the baked turkey balls.
Coconut Apple Lentil Salad
1/4 finely chopped coconut
1/2 medium chopped apple
1 T coarsely chopped nuts
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 grated ginger
Pinch of sea salt
1-1/2 C shredded lettuce
Olive oil
Arrange the lettuce on a plate and drizzle with olive oil. Mix all ingredients, except nuts, and refrigerator for 15 minutes to blend flavors. Spoon over lettuce and top with nuts.
Get the recipes for Serotonin, Tyrosine, Tyrosine
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