Can eating a lot of delicious food really relieve stress?

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered dietitian

Reviewer: Zhang Yu, researcher at Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

With the rapid development of society, people's pace of life is accelerating, and all walks of life are becoming more and more "involuted". Both office workers and students feel "overwhelmed"! Although appropriate pressure can make people aware of the crisis, focus on improving their abilities and work efficiency, too much pressure may be counterproductive, causing people to feel negative, irritable, anxious, depressed, etc.

In daily life, people have various ways to relieve stress, such as exercise, travel, and petting cats. However, for some working people who are busy and cannot take a vacation, the most commonly used way to save time and effort is to eat a lot of delicious food! Delicious food can make people happy instantly, but eating too much will really make you fat! If you are used to using food to relieve psychological stress, you might as well take a look at the following research results.

In 2022, a new study published in Molecular Psychiatry showed that consuming more fermented foods and dietary fiber foods every day for 4 weeks can significantly relieve mental stress. The reason for this effect may be related to the fact that these foods can regulate intestinal flora and regulate nerves .

There are a lot of prebiotics in fermented foods, one of which is gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which has the functions of improving memory and relieving fatigue. GABA in the intestine can activate the vagus nerve in the human body that regulates rest and digestion. The vagus nerve has a calming effect on the body and mind. There are also many health products related to GABA on the market, which mainly promote its effects of relieving stress and promoting sleep. Foods rich in dietary fiber are also very helpful in regulating intestinal flora.

In this case, let’s take a look at what these two types of food contain and how to eat them.

1. Fermented Foods

(1) Fermented vegetable products : The most common fermented vegetable product is kimchi. The refreshing kimchi is a favorite of many people. However, kimchi has a high salt content, so don’t eat too much at one time!

Many people like to make their own kimchi, which requires controlling the salt concentration and fermentation time. Excessive salt intake is not conducive to blood pressure control, and poor time management will also lead to excessive nitrite. A study explored the production process of low-salt kimchi and recommended using a 4% salt concentration and fermenting for 30 days. This will produce the best quality kimchi, with lactic acid bacteria that are beneficial to the human body dominating.

In addition, sauerkraut is also a fermented vegetable. When purchasing it, pay attention to the nutritional label and choose one with a relatively low sodium content.

(2) Fermented milk products : The most common ones are yogurt and cheese. Yogurt can inhibit the excitability of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), stabilize emotions, and reduce anxiety. For people with anxiety, the HPA tends to be overexcited.

When choosing yogurt, it is best to choose low-temperature yogurt, and also check whether the number of probiotics is marked on the package. Try to choose yogurt with a relatively high number of bacteria. For example, the number of probiotics in yogurt A is higher than that in yogurt B in the figure below.

Figure 1 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Cheese also contains active lactic acid bacteria, which is not only good for intestinal health, but also can improve human immunity. It is recommended to choose cheese with low salt, high calcium content and low sodium content, with a calcium-sodium ratio of >1, such as the one shown below.

Figure 2 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends that the general population consume 300 to 500 grams of milk and dairy products per day. If you choose to drink yogurt or eat cheese, you can convert it according to the same amount of protein. 100 grams of fresh milk is equivalent to 100 grams of yogurt or 10 grams of cheese, and 300 grams of pure milk is equivalent to 300 grams of yogurt or 30 grams of cheese.

(3) Fermented bean products : Common ones include natto, fermented black beans, miso, fermented bean curd, etc. However, their sodium content is relatively high. When eating them, be careful to reduce the amount of cooking salt.

Figure 3 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

(4) Fermented tea : Black tea is a fermented tea commonly consumed by people, including Gongfu tea, Lapsang souchong black tea, Keemun black tea, etc. Black tea can be brewed with boiling water, which can balance the dissolution of caffeine, tea polyphenols, theanine and other ingredients. Studies have shown that when brewing Keemun black tea, using 100°C pure water for 10 minutes can maximize the antioxidant effect and achieve the best sensory quality.

2. Foods rich in dietary fiber

(1) Foods rich in β-glucan : Oats and barley are recommended. You can use them to replace 1/3 to 2/3 of the white rice. Soak them in clean water the night before, seal them and refrigerate them. When you cook them the next day, they will have a chewy texture and are super delicious!

(2) Foods rich in pectin : such as apples, dragon fruit, hawthorn, tomatoes, carrots, water spinach, etc.

(3) Foods rich in soy oligosaccharides : tofu, tofu skin, dried tofu, bean curd sticks, etc. are all good choices.

(4) Foods rich in inulin : Garlic, dandelion petals, and asparagus shoots are all foods rich in inulin. However, consuming too much inulin may cause flatulence or mild diarrhea. For healthy people, supplementing inulin at 0.4 g/kg body weight per day is generally not likely to cause adverse reactions. For example, an adult weighing 60 kg can eat up to 24 g of inulin per day.

Figure 2 is from reference [4]

If you feel that life is tiring and you are under a lot of pressure, in addition to adjusting your mindset, try adjusting your diet as well. You may gain unexpected benefits!

References

[1]Berding K, Bastiaanssen TFS, Moloney GM, et al. Feed your microbes to deal with stress: a psychobiotic diet impacts microbial stability and perceived stress in a healthy adult population[J]. Molecular psychiatry, 2023, 28(2): 601-610.

[2] Liu Zhenzhen, Jia Qianwen, Li Tiantian, et al. Optimization of low-salt kimchi production process[J]. Chinese Condiment, 2023, 48(6):132-137,151.

[3] Li Maiquan, Zhang Can, Yin Benxin, et al. Effect of brewing method on the quality of Keemun black tea[J]. Journal of Food Safety and Quality, 2021, 12(24):9507-9513.

[4] Li Xuan, Luo Denglin, Xiang Jinle, et al. Properties, functions and application progress of inulin in food[J]. Journal of the Chinese Cereals and Oils Association, 2021, 36(4): 185-192.