Combat Stress with Nuts
Combat stress is not always easy while new medical discoveries ever give us more tools to get rid of stress and anxiety caused by our daily lifestyle. New research by a team of scientists from Penn State University and published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition says a diet rich in walnuts helps our bodies cope with stress.
Worth pointing out that people who show an exaggerated biological response to stress have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke, usually because they produce a dangerous increase in blood pressure and for this reason, maintaining the psychological balance is essential. Now scientists have shown that slight changes in our diet can lead to beneficial effects on our mental and physical health.
This study analyzed a total of 22 adults who had elevated LDL cholesterol (known as the “bad cholesterol”), subjecting them to three diet periods with duration of six weeks each. In each dietary program people ate a variety of foods made with nuts.
At the end the participants were subjected to stressful situations, surprising those who had consumed a greater amount of nuts showed fewer physiological signs of stress or anxiety. In other words, your blood pressure remained at normal levels but would feel anxious or stressed.
The researchers explain that nuts are an excellent food, source of fiber, antioxidants and unsaturated fatty acids. In addition, each nut contains alpha linolenic acid (a member of the group of essential fatty acids known as omega-3), which would be primarily responsible for the positive effects on blood pressure. As added benefits, nuts also have anti-inflammatory effect and reduce the risk of vascular disease.
Of course, if you want to gain weight, do not drink more than three or four nuts a day. And if the council to integrate the nuts in our daily food we add some techniques to combat stress and assume a sedentary lifestyle is not, then surely we can improve our quality of life.