We live in stressful times. Existential crises abound, we work more than ever, and the pace of the modern world quickens around us. We are ever more disconnected despite, or perhaps because of, increasing time in front of screens.
We know how important it is to manage our stress. Medical studies confirm our intuition that stress harms our health. Incidence of heart disease, diabetes, anxiety, depression, insomnia and pain rises under prolonged stress. Finding healthy ways to cope with and navigate stressors is essential in manifesting health and vitality.
Embracing opportunities to develop self-care practices in such times yields great rewards. There are many ways to do so: spending time in nature, playing, moving one’s body and connecting with loved ones all replenish our energy. But nourishing the body with healing foods is also a vitally important part of a holistic approach to self-care.
Each meal, each snack and each tea break is an opportunity to bathe our bodies and brains, on a cellular level, with restorative nutrients, phytochemicals and minerals. Consciously chosen, each ingredient in each meal can boost cognitive function, reduce inflammation, lift mood or help restore sleep. Considering the potential of food as medicine allows us to reframe our experience of “comfort food.”
Too often, when we are under stress, or feel exhausted or overwhelmed, we turn to comfort food. We use sweets, carbohydrate-laden fare or alcohol to soothe, self-medicate or escape from difficult emotions. But if we pay attention to our mental and physical states following such an indulgence, we may notice a dive in energy, jump in fatigue, and possibly even depressed mood or irritability.
Truly comforting, nourishing food leaves us feeling grounded, alert, satisfied, and maybe even a bit more focused and happy. As I write this, I am enjoying a cinnamon cardamom tea, delighting in the evocative smell and the brightening mental effect. Dinner tonight? Lentils spiced with anti-inflammatory curry spices (heavy on the turmeric) with kale. Dessert? Perhaps stewed apples with ginger and cinnamon. I know that the soluble fiber in apples will prevent the blood sugar spike and fall that accompanies most sweet treats. Cinnamon helps stabilize blood sugar, too. Warming ginger soothes inflammation in the body and settles the tummy. I feel good just thinking about these foods!
Nourishing the body with thoughtfully prepared meals at every opportunity gives you the platform from which to effectively navigate stress. Do the experiment yourself: what kind of foods are truly comforting in times of stress?
I’ll be exploring the deliciously useful healing power of food in delightful detail with friend and local luminary Rebecca Katz at the Point Reyes Farmers Market on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 11 a.m.. She will demonstrate how to make inspired yumminess from her most recent cookbook, “The Healthy Mind Cookbook,” while we converse about the amazing attributes of the ingredients.
Anna O’Malley practices Integrative Family Medicine at the Coastal Health Alliance. She lives in Bolinas.