Lifestyle changes are one of the key ways to reducing anxiety, and diet plays a significant role in a person’s lifestyle. According to recent findings backed up by science by changing your diet you can control the intensity and occurrence of your anxiety symptoms.
There are few simple but at the same time essential dietary changes to reduce anxiety, and they act by:
- Keeping balanced blood sugar levels
- Reducing inflammation,
- Improving your gut microbiota.
According to experts getting rid of sugar in your diet is an essential and first step which you must take in order to heal.
Although eating sugar alone will not cause you to get anxiety, it will certainly create changes in your body that may make your anxiety symptoms worse, or even trigger anxiety attacks.
If you start eating healthier diet, you will be less prone to symptoms of sugar and insulin imbalances that often lead to panic and anxiety attacks.
A wise dietary choice will also improve your body’s ability to cope with stress, and provide you with more energy.
Here is what you diet should look like:
- Free of pastas, white bread and pastries
- Free of processed foods
- High in vegetables (mostly leafy greens) and moderate quantities of fruit (natural sources of sugar).
- Include more foods of different colours (orange, red, green, blue)
- Include foods high in protein,
- Include foods rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals (specially magnesium), and omega 3 fatty acids.
Healthy diet will improve your overall health and wellbeing. The healthier your body feels, the easier it will be for you to manage your anxiety too.
If you suffer from anxiety experts agree that you should include more tryptophan rich foods in your diet.
Tryptophan is an amino acid found in some protein rich foods, like for example in turkey meat.
It is essential for you to get it from your diet in sufficient amounts, so that neurotransmitters in your brain and body can be made. If for example you don’t get enough of tryptophan the production of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, will decrease and that will lead to mood issues.
Main sources of this essential amino acid despite turkey, are chicken, cheese, soy, nuts, and nut butters.
Research has proved that one of the most common nutrient deficiencies in people with mental disorders is a lack of omega-3 fatty acids.
So adding more of omega-3-rich foods like anchovies, herring, salmon, and trout to your diet two to three times a week will be a wise thing to do.
Including fermented foods like sauerkraut or yogurt into your diet can help repair and improve your gut microbiota, and promote healing and as your gut heals your anxiety symptoms will start to decrease.
Adding healthy spices like curcuma in combination with black pepper to your diet will decrease inflammation and soon enough you will notice positive changes in your physical and mental health.
According to some experts drinking one cup of homemade bone broth a day, can also help gut health, reduce inflammation, and reduce stress.
If you are suffering from anxiety, first you must inform yourself as much as possible on what can help, then make a plan of action and move slowly by noticing what works best for you!
So, do not wait, make the necessary dietary changes and move forward to a better health!