Overview Of Foods To Avoid When Stressed

Stress is one way that an individual's body responds to a situation. The stress response may involve mental, emotional, and physical elements. Some stress is considered healthy. Unfortunately, however, it is easy for stress to become overwhelming and cause significant health issues. These issues can be mental ones, though physical issues are also quite common.  Managing stress is essential. However, it is vital to choose healthy coping mechanisms. Unfortunately, many individuals deal with increased stress by making unhealthy eating choices. Individuals may find that eating comfort food improves their mood temporarily. However, it also causes damage to their physical and mental health in the long-term. 

Stress management for adults and children is vital. Thankfully, individuals have several options. Most individuals will experience success with natural stress management, including mindfulness for stress. Meditation and exercises to reduce stress are also options. Of course, some individuals will need cognitive behavioral therapy for stress. Consuming a healthy diet is also vital, and it starts with avoiding certain foods when stressed.

Ice Cream

Individuals may find that diving into a quart of ice cream when they are feeling stressed soothes their emotions. However, it is doing significant damage to their body, both physically and mentally. The high sugar content of ice cream will cause an individual's blood sugar to spike. Even when individuals do not have type 2 diabetes, their blood sugar's sudden rise will cause a surge in their energy and, eventually, a crash. As the sugar is pushed to the cells in the body to be used as energy, those levels will abruptly drop and leave the individual feeling fatigued or lethargic. 

This crash also affects the individual's emotional health by causing their brain to release cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone. It is responsible for inhibiting sleep, misdirecting immune responses, and increasing the craving for sweet or unhealthy food. Once the brain starts releasing cortisol to combat the increased sugar in the blood, a cycle of heightened stress and unhealthy food choices will leave individuals feeling increasingly worse.

Continue reading to uncover more foods that individuals should avoid when they are stressed now.

Canned Soup

While most individuals think that they are doing themselves a favor by eating canned soup, there is more in it than vegetables and a hearty broth. There are two ingredients in canned soups that negatively affect the body. The first of those harmful ingredients is sodium. The average can of soup contains a minimum of one thousand milligrams of sodium. This is below the acceptable 2,400 milligrams of sodium allowed per day. However, most doctors recommend that individuals should keep their sodium intake at five to six hundred milligrams a day. Consuming too much sodium can cause hypertension, fluid retention, kidney disease, osteoporosis, stomach cancer, and even asthma. 

Additionally, one of the chemical preservatives in many brands of canned soup is monosodium glutamate. While this compound is still considered safe under government regulations, it adversely affects the central nervous system. As a result, consuming too much monosodium glutamate can cause symptoms such as drowsiness, headaches, nausea, and chest tightness. Thus, when stressed, individuals should eat homemade soup that does not contain these harmful compounds. It may take more effort to do this, but it is worth it.

Discover more foods to avoid consuming when stressed now.