Calm Down... How TO Eat Your Way TO Less Stress

We've all heard about adrenaline - the hormone your body produces when you find yourself in a stressful situation - but what about cortisol?

- Prudence Wade

"Put simply, it's one of the stress hormones," explains registered nutritionist Angela Dowden, who places it "in the same category" as adrenaline.

"We produce a lot when we wake up in the morning, so it gears us up to the day. Production should then slow over the period of the day, with fluctuations here and there."

Cortisol is produced in response to stress, so if you find yourself spinning out, you might see a spike in your levels - and food can have a potential impact on this.

"It's really good to be aware and think about what stress might be doing to you, and how you could eat to make sure that your cortisol and stress levels are a little bit more in balance," Angela, 58, says.

Her new cookbook, The Cortisol Fix Recipe Book, includes dishes aimed towards healthy eating, with a particular focus on cortisol-balancing ingredients.