Stress is unavoidable but still controllable. There are various ways to handle stress such as meditation, exercise, Qigong, hydro aerobic, etc. Besides all these methods, another way to help reduce stress is taking Vitamin B and C.

Vitamins can reduce stress because when people are under stress they normally lose a large amount of vitamin B. Compare to other parts of the body, our brain contains the highest amount of vitamin B for 20%. In addition, when we eat very sweet food, our body will use vitamin B to digest sugar by retrieving Vitamin B from our brain. When there is not enough vitamin B in our brain, we will feel easily upset, have inconsistent temper, and our capacity to endure stress will be less than usual.

Vitamin B is mostly found in brown rice. Today's Thai people, however, tend to eat white rice more than brown rice. Many people don't like brown rice because it is not delicious, or too hard to chew. Yet, if we eat brown rice, we will surely receive sufficient amount of vitamin B. On the outer part of brown rice, there is a thin cover which is full of fiber. Inside this cover, there are layers of vitamins and minerals such as protein, especially vitamin B and every type of amino acids except lysine. An adequate amount of brown rice that we should consume daily is 500 grams. With this amount of brown rice, our body will receive sufficient amount of vitamin B and minerals which will also increase our ability in enduring stress.

Besides Vitamin B, another type of vitamin can also help increasing our capacity to tolerate tension. A study found out that when people are under stress, their adrenal gland works harder and sometimes bleed. The researcher, therefore, injected vitamin C which can stop bleeding per gum. After injection, the adrenal gland stops bleeding. This tells us that vitamin C helps the adrenal gland to work less hard and at the same time make us feel better. Operation also causes stress in patients. The study also found out that when we are under stress, our body usually needs more vitamin C. To study this, the researcher injected three grams of vitamin C into patients waiting for operations. When they check the patients' bloods, they found no vitamin C in the bloods. After that they injected two more grams of vitamin C into the same patients, but still found no sign of vitamin C. The researchers kept injecting until they found vitamin C in the patients' blood when injecting 8 grams of vitamin C altogether. We also learn from this experiment that people under high stress should receive at least 8 grams of vitamin C.

Taking vitamins only helps enhancing your body's capacity to tolerate stress. It actually depends on yourself whether you can adjust your attitude and get ready to handle tension that can arise anytime. Think carefully of the causes of your stress, then, "try leaving the past behind and keep walking" You may find something new in your life which can make you happy. Who knows?