How oranges and bell peppers can bust stress

Diet can play a huge role in how your body copes with stress. Certain nutrients are super important as a stress buster and vitamin C is definitely one of these.

Two really good sources of vitamin C are oranges and red bell peppers. Getting plenty of these in your diet can be a game changer for helping your body to be more resilient.

Let’s talk about why:

You probably know about vitamin C’s links to immunity, but you may be less familiar with its potential effects on stress - particularly for stress hormones. When these are produced on a regular basis, they’re linked to inflammation and a whole host of health problems, from diabetes and heart disease to cancer. Scary stuff, right?

According to studies, vitamin C can reduce your levels of stress hormones, including cortisol. In one study involving people with high blood pressure, both their blood pressure and their cortisol levels decreased more quickly when they consumed vitamin C before doing something stressful, compared to the group who weren’t consuming vitamin C.

Another study carried out by researchers at the University of Alabama found that a fairly high level of vitamin C helped to reduce production of stress hormones in the blood and also had an effect on typical markers of physical and emotional stress.

There was another significant finding from this study - researchers think that people who are experiencing chronic stress may build up a tolerance to vitamin C, which means that they need more of it to counteract stress.

So as you can see, there are some great reasons to load up on oranges, bell peppers and other vitamin C rich foods, especially if you’re under a lot of stress.

Until next time!

Angi ~ Holistic Health & Wellness Practitioner