As we experience ongoing pain/stress, we tend to make poor nutritional choices that can actually increase our pain/ stress levels. Here are ten tips for getting good nutrition and maintaining a more healthy diet, even during ongoing pain/ stress. After a few weeks, they'll become habit and you won't even have to think about good nutrition. And your body-not to mention your pain/stress tolerance levels will feel the difference!
Eat Breakfast: Skipping breakfast makes it harder to maintain stable blood sugar levels and effective functioning during your busy morning. (You can at least grab a protein bar on your way out the door.)
Drink Green Tea: If you're a coffee junkie, you may not realize the effects caffeine has on your system. However, you can reduce your stress levels and improve your mental performance throughout the day if you gradually wean yourself off of large amounts of caffeine.
Drink Sparkling Water/Seltzer: If you're a cola drinker, you're probably experiencing the same unhealthy consequences from caffeine as coffee drinkers experience. A more healthful alternative is sparkling fruit juice, or flavored seltzer.
Carry a Snack: Having some protein-rich, healthful snacks in your car, office, or purse can help you avoid blood sugar level dips and accompanying mood swings and fatigue. You should always have water handy. It's vital to health and proper physical functioning.
Healthy Munches: If you find that you absently munch when you're stressed, or have a pattern of snacking at certain times in the day or week, you can replace chips, cheese puffs and other less-healthy munchies with carrot sticks, edamame, celery sticks, sunflower seeds or other more healthy choices. (Even popcorn is a better choice if you leave off the butter and salt!)
Banish the Bad Stuff: It's easier to avoid sugary, fatty, and otherwise unhealthy foods if they're not in your home! This may sound like a no-brainer (yet it's sometimes harder to do than you'd expect), but you should go through your kitchen and throw out anything your body can't use in a healthy way. You'll be forced to snack on healthy/tasty food when you're stressed. (Spend time finding a healthy snack that you will enjoy eating.)
Tension Tamers: Adopting stress reducing techniques such as martial arts, journaling and laughter.
Physical exercise is particularly useful in easing stress levels (click here).
