Elizabeth Blumberg: Hi! I am Elizabeth Blumberg and I am talking about understanding the connection between nutrition and stress. Now, I would like to talk about vitamins and minerals and how they can actually help support your stress management as well.

The first vitamin that I would like to discuss is Vitamin C. Vitamin C is found in the highest concentration in your adrenal glands. Now when you are under stress, your body utilizes vitamin C at an enormous rate. This is one of the reasons why your immune system can clash during times of stress, you might find yourself getting sick or having frequency of infections.

Vitamin C is naturally found in fruits and vegetables, but sometimes we are unable to get enough from these food sources, in which case we might need to provide some form of supplementation. A minimum of 250 milligrams of Vitamin C per day would be necessary to help supplement your stress management program and in some cases of extreme stress, even higher dosage Vitamin C might be needed, even up to 1000 milligrams or more per day to help ensure that your body manages stress appropriately.

The next group of vitamins are the B vitamins. Now, the B vitamins are also found in a very high concentration in the adrenal gland. The most important B vitamin that we should single out is B5. B5 is known as Pantothenic acid. Pantothenic acid has a wide range of properties, but most importantly it does help to support the health of your stress coping gland, your adrenal.

In addition, it also has antihistamine properties. This is why in many cases we can use it to help offset the effects of allergy reactions. Recommended dosages per day are anywhere from 250-500 milligrams, in terms of the food sources of Pantothenic acid, it's kind of difficult to get enough again through foods. But, B vitamins are found in a wide range of foods from whole grains, even to animal products, lean proteins, chicken and fish as well.

Again, it is important that I note anytime you are going to make any changes with vitamins or nutrients in your routine, do be sure to consult the expertise of a health professional.

Moving on, the next group of nutrients are your amino acids. Now amino acids are the most simple forms of protein. Now, amino acids are extremely important and supporting the health of your stress levels. They are found naturally in protein rich foods such as meats, fish, and poultry. The most interesting nutrient to explore in the amino acid category is L-tyrosine.

L-tyrosine is actually been shown to help reduce the impact of stress and anxiety, alleviate depression, and also stimulate the metabolism in certain individuals. Again, please note that even amino acids may have contraindications with medication such as MAO inhibitors or even anti-depressants. So do consult your health professional.

Finally, we have essential fatty acids. Now, essential fats are found in salmon and nuts and seeds and avocado. In many cases, we can't get adequate amounts through diet but under stressful conditions, it might be necessary to supplement your diet with a slightly higher dose. Typically, it will be recommended to take EPA or DHA anywhere from 1000 milligrams to 2000 milligrams per day to better help manage your stress levels. Next, we are going to explore three other extremely important nutrients that are very significant in managing stress levels.