Better Living through Chemistry

  It is said that you are what you eat.




  Before we get started, we're just going to mention that this is not medical advice. While we believe everything in here is considered "generally recognized as safe" by most regulatory bodies, and is common food, we're not pretending to be your doctor. This is just interesting trivia.

  That said, there is some indication that your snacks can, in fact, help "tip the scales" in reducing stress, though they're unlikely to completely counteract a bad life.

Tea is Bliss

  Common green tea has been suggested to decrease stress responses and reduce mental illness. (PMID 17013636, 35251619)

Why Not Magnesium?

  The common element magnesium has a recommended daily allowance of almost half a gram a day (source). It's also an analog of esketamine, recently approved for treatment of depression (PMID 22261381).

  Some sources find that magnesium deficiency can directly affect anxiety and depression. (PMID 33260549, 38817505, 19085527). Most of the foods that are high in magnesium are seeds and nuts (source), and it's also a common supplement.

Beet the System

  Betaine, found in beets, directly lowers stress hormones. (PMID 22962225), which would probably lower stress-hormone-induced neurotoxicity.




Maybe Turmeric

  Curcumin, found in the common spice turmeric, resets stress-related changes to the serotonin 1A receptor class and promotes neurogenesis in rats who recieved brain injury from chronic stress (PMID 17617388, 35129813).

  Of course, you also can't absorb it without adding a little black pepper. Several recipies for 'golden milk' exist, but the two spices can also be added to foods.

Fishies! (or flax)

  Omega-3 fatty acids may promote neurogenesis in traumatic brain injury, which is our model of stress neurotoxicity. (PMID 39683568, 30871113, 32636362) while decreasing neurotoxic stress hormones. (PMID 36009265, 23390041, 33242725)

So, your Oats...

  Butyric acid is what is known as a "histone deacetylase inhibitor." (PMID 16373710, 35408878, 34948127).

  Dopaminergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens change in response to stress (PMID 25173629), and a histone deacetylase inhibitor can reverse that (PMID 25907440, 19759294, 28656275), and also stress-related changes in other brain regions.

  Luckily, the histone deacetylace inhibitor butyric acid is produced by gut bacterium from resistant starches - unconverted starches and fiber. (PMID 33995299, 27357127, 34436500). A few flakes of uncooked oatmeal or a slightly-green bananna or just about any dietary fiber might, actually, repair some damage and reverse the epigenetic changes of stress.




Consider Serotonin

  Serotonin is a primary neurotransmitter manufactured in the body from the amino acid tryptophan.

  Tryptophan supplementation improves mood, increases cognition, and reduces stress (PMID 26805875, 35343881, 25858202). It also increases prosocial behavior and empathy. (PMID 16862243, 25566132).

  Tryptophan is available as a pure supplement, in which case it should probably be taken with a protien-rich meal to mediate absorbtion.

  Eggs, soybeans, hard cheeses, sunflower, and pumpkin seed are considered excellent tryptophan sources. Feel free to do research online about high-tryptophan foods.


  Of course, adding all the advantages in the world to your diet won't do anything if you're not eating a rich, nutritionally-complete diet in the first place. Cook freely with whole natural ingredients, spice it up, and make sure you're getting a diversity of fats, protiens, vitamins, and the like - sea salt is often considered a nutritionally complete salt.

  However, a little extra dietary support for antistress and antitrauma probably won't hurt. While we're not your doctor, and this is for informative and entertainment purpouses only, there are a few extra tricks and secrets you can try.


 • Back to the Stressbusting Vault