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FALL 2020 / HEALTH & WELLNESS DIRECTORY 4 By Karen Stokes Special to The Freeman When you feel tense, stress eating seems to be an auto- matic response. Stress may increase your desire for dough- nuts, candy, and other high-fat or sugary foods. You are likely to eat fewer regular healthy meals and fewer fruits and vegetables. "It's so pertinent right now because the world we live in is very stressful. There are certain foods that you can eat more of which helps your body naturally to cope with stress. One thing is to increase your magnesium," said Missy Propper, certified nutrition and wellness and lifestyle coach at Authentic Wellness. Almonds, spinach, cashews, peanuts, cereal, shredded wheat, edamame and dark chocolate are examples of foods rich in magnesium. Propper suggests when you are craving chocolate it's okay to eat a little bit but you want to go for dark chocolate because usually milk chocolate is full of sugar. If you can get a 70 or higher cacao percentage it's actually not bad for you, of course in moderation. She also warns us that we need to shy away from sugar because that causes more stress in the body. Sugary foods do more harm and make you feel worse; an apple, banana or blueberries would be healthier. "Blueberries are fabulous, it's a fruit that can give you the sweetness," said Propper. "It's really about finding healthy alternatives. You can find recipes for comfort foods like macaroni and cheese, but with cauliflower. You can make a cauliflower mac and cheese and it tastes phenomenal and you're not getting all that starch from the macaroni and starch processes like sugar in your body." Susan Chen, APNP, Out- reach Community Health Centers, offers ideas to help limit weight gain and increased glucose. 1. Lower your stress. Limit TV news watching to 20 minutes a day and decrease use of social media. Watch funny movies — laughing is a great way to reduce stress. 2. Get regular sleep and exercise. Walking, dancing in the house, just moving is some- thing. 3. Higher fiber, higher protein keeps you feeling fuller longer. 4. Thirst. Drink water before you decide to eat or snack — it will also help you feel fuller. 5. Avoid any sugar drinks — soda, sweet tea, any drinks with high levels of sugar. 6. Snack on things healthier. A healthy diet can help counter the impact of stress by strengthening the immune system and lowering blood pressure. Stress proofing your diet What foods to consume, others to avoid Submitted photo When feeling stressed, it's important to incorporate healthy foods like fruits and vegetables into your diet.