The fear of getting sick and the obligation to stay indoors are increasing anxiety in even the most rational of people. The doctor is well aware of this Diana Scatozza, medical specialist in Nutritional Science and counselor, who together with the psychotherapist Pietro Enrico Bossola, of the Onlus "Here and Then" association, answers every day for free (from 12.30 to 13, at 340-8453280) to those who do not know how face this new and destabilizing everyday life.
"Many concerns are also related to food," he says. "A lady called me desperate, because she had eaten a piece of Parmesan with her hands and was afraid of having contracted Covid-19. Yet right food can help us to live this difficult period in a better way: for its precious nutrients, which have a positive effect on mood, because to buy it we have to go out and we can take the opportunity to take a walk and get some light that is beneficial for the brain, because its preparation requires attention and therefore forces us to think of other things and, finally, for his ability to gratify us ».
The menu that cheers you up
"In anti-anxiety menu we must include foods rich in magnesium and calcium, such as for example dried fruit, which is a great source of both, ”suggests our expert.
“These two minerals act on the nervous system promoting relaxation: calcium more peripherally (legs, arms), magnesium more centrally (brain). At lunch and dinner it is then always necessary to provide a dish that provides the tryptophan, a very important amino acid for our mental well-being: the body uses it to produce serotonin, also known as the good mood hormone, which has a natural antidepressant effect. Tryptophan is present in spelled, millet, whole grains in general, legumes, white meat, eggs, fresh cheeses, almonds and cashews.
As anxiolytics are also useful foods that contain carbohydrates: pasta, rice, potatoes. Eaten in the evening, they guarantee an added advantage: they do not alter sleep, because they are digested quickly. Finally, let's not forget the fat fish (Omega 3 have a positive, albeit not immediate, action on mood disorders), of vegetables (in addition to providing antioxidants, vitamins and fiber, those with green leaves are also a mine of calcium), gods probiotic fermented milks (because 90% of serotonin is produced in the intestine), comfort foods such as chocolate (which gratifies and additionally provides magnesium and tryptophan).
As for the prohibitions: no to coffee and black tea (caffeine and theine stir) and alcohol (at first it seems to have a euphoric effect, but then depresses, especially if you overdo the quantities) ».
Here the weekly menu complete to put a stop to anxiety in this time of great difficulty for everyone.
MONDAY
Breakfast
Barley coffee
Milk (preferably delactosed, goat or vegetable with added calcium)
1 banana
Snack
10-15 unpeeled almonds
1 square of dark chocolate
Lunch
Salmon fillet
Baked potatoes (preferably sweet) with extra virgin olive oil and rosemary
1 orange cut into rings with cinnamon
Merenda
10-15 pistachios
1 square of dark chocolate
Price
Pasta and chickpeas
Goat ricotta with aromas
Lettuce salad with extra virgin olive oil
TUESDAY
Breakfast
Barley coffee
Yogurt with 1 tablespoon of rolled oats, chopped walnuts and dark chocolate flakes
Snack
1 apple
Lunch
Saffron risotto
Chicken breast with extra virgin olive oil and sage
Songino salad
Raspberries
Merenda
10-15 anacardi
1 square of dark chocolate
Price
Vegetable and legume soup with millet and basil and 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Cooked ham
Steamed green beans sautéed in extra virgin olive oil
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast
Barley coffee
Milk (preferably delactosed, goat or vegetable with added calcium)
1 fruit salad with lemon juice
Snack
8-10 walnut kernels
1 square of dark chocolate
Lunch
Pasta with basil pesto
Omelette with chard
Endive, orange and hazelnut salad
Merenda
10-15 almonds
1 square of dark chocolate
Price
Ribollita toscana
Crescence Lettuce salad with extra virgin olive oil
THURSDAY
Breakfast
Barley coffee
Yogurt with 1 tablespoon of rolled oats, chopped walnuts and dark chocolate flakes
Snack
1 banana
Lunch
Grilled tuna
Songino salad
Whole grain bread
Blueberries with lemon
Merenda
20-30 pine nuts
1 square of dark chocolate
Price
Rice and Lentil Soup
Aromatic chicken breast
Boiled beets sautéed in a pan with extra virgin olive oil
FRIDAY
Breakfast
Barley coffee
Milk (preferably delactosed, goat or vegetable with added calcium)
1 banana
Snack
10-15 unpeeled almonds
1 square of dark chocolate
Lunch
Milk Rice
Milk roast turkey
Fennel stewed in a pan with extra virgin olive oil
1 orange
Merenda
10-15 anacardi
1 square of dark chocolate
Price
Cream of legumes with wholemeal bread croutons and raw extra virgin olive oil
Mozzarella with basil and 1 drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Lettuce salad
Saturday
Breakfast
Barley coffee
Yogurt with 1 tablespoon of rolled oats, chopped walnuts and dark chocolate flakes
Snack
1 apple
Lunch
Saffron pasta
Chicken breast with extra virgin olive oil and sage
Cabbage salad
Raspberries
Merenda
10-15 almonds
1 square of dark chocolate
Price
Basmati pilaf rice
Trout with fennel and almond pesto
Songino salad
Sunday
Breakfast
Barley coffee
Milk (preferably delactosed, goat or vegetable with added calcium)
1 fruit salad with lemon juice
Snack
8-night 10
1 square of dark chocolate
Lunch
Fried anchovies
Lettuce salad
Whole grain bread
1 orange cut into rings with cinnamon
Merenda
10-15 pistachios
1 square of dark chocolate
Price
Saffron risotto
Fresh goat cheese
Songino salad with extra virgin olive oil
2 RECIPES
- Ribollita toscana
Ingredients for 4 people: 500 g of spinach boiled in a little water, 1 black cabbage boiled in a little water, 1 small carrot, 1 small stalk of celery, 1 bunch of parsley, 500 g of tomato pulp, 1 can of cannellini beans cooked, 4 slices of stale homemade bread, 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt.
Chop the spinach and kale, arrange them in a bowl and set aside. In a fairly large saucepan, prepare a sauté with the cleaned and chopped celery and onion and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Pour the tomato pulp, cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook for 30 minutes. Then add the parsley, peeled, washed and chopped, the boiled vegetables already prepared and the cannellini beans, then leave on the stove for another half hour. Finally add the stale bread, season with salt and cook for 5 minutes. Distribute on plates, season with the remaining extra virgin olive oil and serve.
- Trout with fennel and almond pesto
Ingredients for 4 people: 4 salmon trout fillets, 40 g of chopped almonds, 80 g of sliced ​​almonds, fennel to taste, 1/2 untreated lemon, 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt.
Blend the fennel with 2 lemon zest, salt, chopped almonds and 1 tablespoon of oil. Line the dripping pan with parchment paper, grease it with oil, cover it with more fennel and lay the fish on it. Put the prepared pesto and sliced ​​almonds on the fillets. Drizzle with the remaining oil and lemon juice and cook at 180 ° C for 8 minutes.
