Balance and Nutrition

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It should be clear by now that it is important to avoid too much salt, sugar and dairy products in our diet. These foods tend to promote adrenaline release, which decreases stress tolerance, and they also have a negative effect on cardiovascular health. As part of a balanced diet, the following foods will encourage fitness and energy, nourish nerves, feed muscles, improve circulation and breathing, support the immune system and promote a general feeling of positivity and calm:

Nutrients

If you seek a more relaxed lifestyle, you should start by caring for yourself from the inside, and feed your body with only 'good' fuel. The general maxims of a healthy diet are to increase our intake of fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates and low fat proteins, such as fresh fish or lean meat. Fibre became a buzz word of the 1980's and it is still valued-but fortunately a healthy diet should preclude the need for endless bowls of bran. Fat is essential but, as discussed, only in restricted quantities.

Of course there are many foods that aid the mental and physical balance of our bodies. When we are under a lot of pressure and feel worn down by life, the body will benefit from supplements of substances that are devoured by a system under stress. Unfortunately, vitamins and nutrients can have a short shelf-life.

Food has to be very fresh, as some vitamins are easily eroded by heat, light and storage. Overcooking can destroy the nutritional value of many foods, and it is always best to eat food raw or lightly cooked whenever possible. Buying organic food is another way of ensuring that our bodies get the nutrients they need.

Although nutrients are best taken in their most natural form, modern diets do not always allow this, and we often need to supplement our intake. It is now possible to obtain vitamins and minerals that are specifically targeted to help with stress. A deficiency of vitamin C is a common problem, as stress hampers our ability to create and absorb it. Such a deficiency can also damage our absorption of iron.

Supplements of vitamin B6 are recommended when under stress, pregnant or during times of anxiety and worry. A lack of B6 can lead to physical and mental exhaustion. Zinc deficiency is a common sign of stress and can induce stomach problems, a breakdown of the immune system, poor healing, low appetite and fatigue. Iodine, linked to the thyroid gland, has a direct effect on the metabolic rate of the body, so a deficiency can cause exhaustion while supplements have a stimulant effect. For more information make time to visit your local health food shop or chemist-staff there will be glad to advise.

It is important to keep your diet and dietary behaviour as balanced as possible. The demands of modern-day life sometimes make it difficult to adhere to a well-balanced diet. There will always be times when the processed, overcooked oven meal is just too convenient, or when you really don't have time to sit down for a bite. Given this inevitability, it is all the more important to monitor what you eat and try to make up for the days when you do not have the time or inclination to prepare something more wholesome. This is the only way to let your body cope and to lessen any anxiety you may have about not eating properly.