Stress is something that we will all experience from time to time. We have discussed how stress can affect your menstrual cycle, but how can vitamins and supplements help us to manage stress?

Some vitamins promote stress relief by supporting a calm response and relaxation. Others enhance your mood and attention, or encourage production of your feel good hormones: serotonin, dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin hormones. 

Vitamin D 

Vitamin D is also known as the “sunshine vitamin” as it is created in your body as a result of exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D can trigger the production of dopamine and serotonin in your body. Many studies have shown that there is a link between healthy vitamin D levels and being less stressed and therefore being in a better mood.  

We always feel less stressed when we feel physically well and vitamin d also helps with bone health, cognitive performance, blood pressure, immune health, and more.  

It is very common in the UK to be vitamin D deficient and especially in the winter. The NHS recommends 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day. 

Omega-3

Studies have shown that omega-3 can improve your stress response. It can be transported across the blood brain barrier and interact with mood related pathways in your brain which will support a healthy mood. It also supports a healthy level of cortisol which is one of the main stress hormones.  

Again, we always feel less stressed when we are generally healthy and omega-3 has been found to support heart health and brain health and encourage a healthy inflammatory response.   

Probiotic 

Probiotics are essential in helping to balance hormones. Oestrogen is a prominent hormone in women and it controls women’s health significantly. That is why it is so important to keep your levels of oestrogen balanced in order to prevent other health issues and a spike in stress hormones. Studies have shown that the probiotic lactobacillus helps to balance your levels of oestrogen.  

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