We are stressed, to put it mildly. Every day, information changes and our daily lives have come to a halt. Some of us are literally on the front lines and are experiencing stress that could not be imagined. 

Many of us look to comfort foods to help relieve the heavy burden we are experiencing — not that this is a bad thing. Carbs have been a go-to for the past couple of weeks, but we should keep reminding ourselves how important it is to support our system during times of stress.  

When you stress, adrenaline is released, and our fight and flight hormones are released. If our body does not release all these stress hormones, they can build up and become toxic to our system.  

To rid the body of these stress hormones, our body requires enzymes that are influenced by certain vitamins and minerals to function. These enzymes help our bodies turn the chemicals produced by the fight or flight hormones into something the body can handle and eventually get rid of and in turn makes us feel less stressed and agitated.  

These influencer ingredients include essential minerals and B vitamins that support our system in the detoxification process. These include avocados, mangoes, oranges, sun-dried tomatoes, beets, corn, peas, peppers, spinach, albacore tuna, anchovies, herring, mackerel, mussels, oysters, pacific halibut, salmon, sardines, aged cheese, meat, poultry, whole eggs, chia seeds, Brazil nuts, flax seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, black-eyed peas, soybeans, brewer’s yeast, shiitake mushrooms, nutritional yeast, quinoa, rye, sea vegetables and wheatgerm.  

Grocery stores might be scarce and some of these items might be hard to find, but here are a few items that can be stocked up on: albacore tuna, sardines, seeds and nuts, eggs, and canned or dried peas and beans. For more information about how foods can influence our genes and our health, check out The Genomic Kitchen by Amanda Archibald, RD.