\nFriday, 2 May 2025, 12:50<\/p>\n
The major blackout that left the entire Iberian Peninsula without power for hours on Monday not only exposed the system\u2019s vulnerability but also made it clear that we must be ready for any contingency. During the outage, many of us remembered the famous 72-hour emergency kit the EU advised us to prepare back in March.<\/p>\n
Alongside batteries, a radio, torches and candles, hygiene items, bin bags and medication (especially any we take regularly), the kit should also include water, a camping stove and food. But what kind? It\u2019s clear that it should be non-perishable and, as professors Isabel Prieto and Ana Bel\u00e9n Segarra from the University of Ja\u00e9n point out, it should \u201cprovide us with the energy and nutrients we need\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, even within that category, there\u2019s a wide range of options, so it\u2019s wise to choose those that best suit our individual needs. One key requirement during a crisis is staying calm. While this partly depends on personality -not everyone can keep their nerves in check – it\u2019s something that food can help with too.<\/p>\n
In moments like Monday\u2019s unexpected blackout, \u201cour bodies experience the negative effects of cortisol, the main stress hormone released,\u201d explain Prieto and Segarra. At the same time, levels of serotonin and melatonin drop – two hormones that help regulate our sense of well-being and positive mood. The result can feel like a slap in the face: we\u2019re jolted out of our comfort zone and suddenly get that fluttering in the stomach\u2026 but not the romantic kind – nervous butterflies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good news is that there are foods that can help,\u201d the experts continue. And yes, they can be included in the emergency kit, as they meet all the criteria for long-lasting supplies. What\u2019s more, living in a relatively privileged part of the world, we have the chance to plan ahead and prepare. That means we can pack items that allow us to put together full meals – starter, main, even dessert – helping us maintain routines. After all, eating isn\u2019t just a necessity; it\u2019s a habit, and the less it\u2019s disrupted, the better we cope. <\/p>\n
A hearty dish of lentils<\/strong><\/p>\n The benefits of pulses are no secret. They\u2019re a highly nutritious food and a great source of protein, making them perfectly suitable as a one-dish meal without leaving us lacking. What\u2019s more, they also help \u201ckeep cortisol in check\u201d, the experts agree.<\/p>\n Pulses help prevent blood sugar spikes and promote the absorption of tryptophan and serotonin – substances that tend to be depleted in stressful situations. And if the tinned pulses we buy also include vegetables, they\u2019ll be even healthier. <\/p>\n Better to et hot food, it’s more comforting<\/p>\n \nEating hot food has a comforting effect. We notice it when it’s cold and we enjoy a hearty stew or a mug of hot chocolate. Even if an emergency situation catches us in the middle of summer, it’s still worth doing. The reason is that, in those circumstances, it makes us feel better psychologically. “Of course we can get by on sandwiches or tinned food for three days,” says survival expert Koldo Iturriaga, “but they don’t have the same soothing effect as a bowl of hot lentils.” Another interesting point is that eating hot food when it’s warm isn’t bad – quite the opposite, in fact: it helps the body regulate its temperature. What we should bear in mind in such situations is that we need to hydrate more frequently\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Without forgetting a good tin of sardines<\/strong><\/p>\n Tins of sardines, tuna and mackerel are all welcome additions to an emergency kit. They\u2019re easy to store, take up little space and have a long shelf life – reasons enough to include them. <\/p>\n But they\u2019re even more valuable because these foods are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which not only support cardiovascular health but also have a \u201cmodulating effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.\u201d This helps \u201creduce the excessive production of cortisol associated with stress responses and mental health disorders\u201d, as shown in a comprehensive study from the University of Warsaw, Poland, published late last year.<\/p>\n Mixed nuts to munch on<\/strong><\/p>\n Peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts and the like aren\u2019t just great for curbing that nervous urge to snack or for passing the time when all we can do is wait for help. \u201cRich in magnesium and potassium, they lower cortisol levels in the blood and boost melatonin.\u201d In short, they\u2019re the boost we need in a crisis – no prescription required. <\/p>\n Don\u2019t skip a square of chocolate<\/strong><\/p>\n Dessert has its place too. Yes, if we\u2019re digging into an emergency kit, things are serious – but dark chocolate isn\u2019t just for satisfying a sweet tooth; it also helps soothe frayed nerves. How? \u201cVarieties with 75% cocoa or more contain high levels of flavonoids, which have been proven effective at lowering cortisol.\u201d And it\u2019s a two-for-one deal: cocoa is also good for the heart, thanks to its \u201cpowerful antioxidants\u201d.<\/p>\n And for sleep – milk in powdered form<\/strong><\/p>\n If we plan well and ahead of time, even in an emergency we won\u2019t have to go without a warm glass of milk before bed. To avoid spoilage or storage issues, it should be powdered. Beyond warming our stomach and evoking comforting childhood memories, \u201cit provides tryptophan, an amino acid that helps synthesise serotonin and melatonin,\u201d explain the lecturers – making it easier for us to fall asleep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Friday, 2 May 2025, 12:50 The major blackout that left the entire Iberian Peninsula without power for hours…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[5176,2665,36964,36965,12493,1203,105,36959,13007,36961,36958,218,36963,5598,17289,36960,16,15,6095,36962,7763],"class_list":{"0":"post-74808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-and","9":"tag-anxiety","10":"tag-calming","11":"tag-effect","12":"tag-emergency","13":"tag-food","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-help","16":"tag-include","17":"tag-items","18":"tag-kit","19":"tag-mental-health","20":"tag-notice","21":"tag-the","22":"tag-their","23":"tag-these","24":"tag-uk","25":"tag-united-kingdom","26":"tag-with","27":"tag-youll","28":"tag-your"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114451667057070075","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n