Belinda Rennie conducts workshops and seminars for companies and their workforce on a variety of health-related topics.

Have you ever thought that fatigue, headaches, poor concentration and irritability during the working day could be improved by paying attention to what you eat? With a little thought and planning, eating before and during work can increase your energy and concentration levels, keep your weight in check and help make you more productive.

Here are some tips to help you eat to beat stress

If you feel hungry in the morning, don’t leave home without some food in your stomach such as:

• Fresh fruit or yoghurt
• Wholegrain bread and spread such as low fat soft cheese spread
• Oat cakes/rice cakes/Ryvita and spread
• Banana soy smoothie or yoghurt smoothie
• Wholegrain cereal with milk or soya milk
• Egg and wholegrain toast 

If you are on the road traveling then buy a cool box and stock it with the following:

• Baby carrots and hommos
• Crackers like oat cakes or rice crackers
• Fresh fruit
• Oat muesli bars
• Bottles of water and 100% apple juice/fruit juice 

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Scheduling 20 minutes in the middle of the day to eat will help keep your blood sugar and cholesterol levels normal. Include some protein with your meal such as canned or fresh fish, lean chicken, boiled egg, chickpeas or other beans, feta cheese and some salad vegetables.

• wholemeal roll with tuna/lean chicken and salad
• rice, pasta or bean salad
• cooked meal with rice, fish, chicken or lentils and vegetables
• brown arabic bread with hommos, tabbouleh and raw vegetable sticks
• sushi or nori Japanese seaweed rolls and a bowl of instant miso soup
• jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn
• bowl of soup 

Sugar cravings in the afternoon can be easily remedied by having a ziplock bag of pumpkin, sunflower seeds, raw cashews and almonds with chopped dates, figs, raisins, apricots or prunes to munch on. Have green tea, rooibos tea or other herbal tea with honey on your desk to sip while you are working and a bottle of water.  

For weary workers returning home, eat a lighter, low fat evening meal that is vegetable based like a soup, salad, omelette or stir fry. You will sleep more soundly and awake feeling refreshed. 

Supplement your diet with extra Vitamin C, B group vitamins especially B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc. These are the nutrients most likely to be depleted through adrenal exhaustion in times of stress. Large amounts of tea, coffee, alcohol, soft drinks and cigarettes also inhibit absorption of these essential nutrients. 

By planning ahead and establishing a routine like preparing food the night before to take to work, you will find that at the end of the day you are going home a more balanced person.  

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Recharge your batteries

For many people, REST is a four letter word and needing it, a sign of weakness. The problem with knowing when to rest is that the mind almost always thinks that the body can do more than it actually can. When we keep pushing ourselves beyond our natural limits, we are building a debt of strain in the body that we will eventually have to settle. It’s like borrowing money from the bank. Eventually you have to pay it back and with interest. Sooner or later, the stored up fatigue and strain find their way out in the form of illness, digestive disturbances, sleep problems, excess smoking or reliance on alcohol. 

Find a place that recharges your batteries like the beach, a lush green park or the squash court so that when you walk away, you feel refreshed and revitalised. Visit it often. Create stress-free zones at home, one area of the house where you can rest and relax, meditate or exercise, even if is just a relaxing chair or a corner of the room which has a good feel about it. When you go to this spot mentally dump your work worries in a big bin outside the door. This process of “decontamination” helps to separate work areas and relaxing areas.

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Your second wind

The cheapest most effective stress-buster is breathing. Notice what happens to your breathing next time you feel anxious or tense. You’ll often find it is shallow and fast and confined to the upper part of the chest. Then watch someone sleeping especially a child. You see a slowing down of the breath and the rise and fall of the stomach instead of the chest.  

You can make this kind of relaxed breathing an antidote to stress by putting your hands at the bottom of your ribs and the next time you breathe in feel your diaphragm and stomach expand like a balloon. Then let the air out fully with shoulders relaxed. Pause for a second or two and then take another breath. Nerves attached to the diaphragm are activated with this kind of breathing and send signals to the brain with the simple message, relax. Not surprisingly you also increase the blood’s oxygen level after a hearty bout of laughter.  

Many people smoke more when they are stressed because they take long breaths. The same strategy works better if you do it without a cigarette. Every time you are aware that you feel stressed, take two slow breaths. It is the second breath that has the relaxing affect. No one else notices, it makes you feel good and eventually becomes an automatic response to stress. Or have a good laugh!

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