Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

1. Snack on a handful of nuts. They’re packed with magnesium, which seems to help keep cortisol levels low. Nuts are high in calories, so if you’re watching your weight, make
sure not to eat more than a dozen a day. 
 

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

2. Eat broccoli and low-fat ranch dip. Broccoli has folic acid, which aids stress reduction.

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

3. Enjoy sorbet with a vanilla sugar wafer. Sugary foods decrease levels of anxiety-producing hormones, specifically through the production of glucocorticoid, a stress hormone
linked to storing more fat in the belly. Just a little sugar on the tongue is enough to produce a feel-good effect, so don’t overdo it!

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

4. Have a whole grain English muffin with jam or honey. Complex carbohydrate-rich foods raise serotonin levels, boosting your mood and helping you relax.

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

5. Savor some salmon. Omega-3 fatty acids help brain cells to function more collaboratively, helping you to deal with stress more effectively.

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

6. Indulge in some dark chocolate. By far the most potent endorphin-producing food on earth, chocolate contains more than 300 different compounds, including anandamide, a
chemical that mimics marijuana’s effects on the brain, and theobromine, a mild stimulant. Look for imported dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70% or more.

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

7. Drink a glass of milk. It contains tryptophan, which as it is metabolized is converted to mood-boosting serotonin. Plus, its calcium, magnesium and potassium content may help
keep blood pressure down.

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

8. Drink hot cocoa. Warm drinks raise your body temperature—a feeling we associate with comfort, so it triggers a similar response in our brains.

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

9. Order black tea instead of coffee. A study by University College London shows that drinking black tea four times a day for six weeks lowered the stress hormone cortisol after a stressful event.

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

10. Drink green tea—packed with theanine, which increases the brain’s output of relaxation-inducing alpha waves and reduces the output of tension-making beta waves.

Eating when stressed can be a bad habit when the food of choice is a candy bar or bag of chips. Try these healthy foods that are actually proven to lower stress levels.

11. Drink a glass of cold water, then go for a walk outside. The water gets your blood moving and the air invigorates by stimulating the endorphins that de-stress you.