Anxiety - Is your diet helping or hindering?

​Who isn’t feeling anxious these days? Our lives have changed very suddenly and we are living with a lot more uncertainty than we normally do. 

Anxiety can be a common issue at the best of times and it may be especially true right now as we are going through this pandemic. This blog post will talk about anxiety and how nutrition can help.

Anxiety can be mild to debilitating and is characterised by excessive fear and worry. Common anxiety signs and symptoms include:

• Feeling nervous, restless or tense
• Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
• Having an increased heart rate
• Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
• Sweating
• Trembling
• Feeling weak or tired
• Trouble concentrating
• Having trouble sleeping
• Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems
• Having difficulty controlling worry
• Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Standard medical treatment for anxiety is counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Anti-depressant medication, such as SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) are often used too. SSRIs can help but they do not address the root causes of the anxiety. They also have side effects and damage gut health.

There are many potential causes of anxiety. We mention a few here but cannot cover all causes in this blog:

• External factors like stress, addictions, trauma, conflict, having a serious medical condition or a recent diagnosis or even having to speak publicly at an event or attend a party.
•  Poor gut health.  Gut bacteria can affect our moods and conditions like depression or anxiety. Gut conditions like IBS, SIBO or other digestive conditions disturb the balance of gut bacteria.
•  Imbalanced blood sugar can have you living on the blood sugar roller-coaster with unstable moods as a result.
•  Too much caffeine makes people jittery and anxious.
•   Hormonal imbalances that can affect adrenal or thyroid function can contribute to anxiety.
•  Food allergies or intolerances can disturb gut function and moods, leading to possible anxiety.

Many factors can affect anxiety and mood. It may be a relatively simple and quick fix that you can do on your own like diet change. Or it may be a more complex situation. Some approaches to consider with anxiety include diet and nutrition, lifestyle changes and supplements. Here are a few ideas:
 
Diet:

• Balance blood sugar– Eat to manage your blood sugar. This involves cutting out sugar and refined carbohydrates as they cause an excessive rise in blood sugar. Focus instead on proteins, good fats and lots of vegetables and fruit.
• Reduce caffeine consumption – Caffeine is a stimulant and can make you feel on edge or anxious. This is especially true for people who are slow metabolisers of caffeine.
• Probiotics foods – Fermented foods have live probiotic bacteria, which help to rebalance gut bacteria and improve overall gut health. Foods like sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, miso soup, tempeh, kombucha and pickles contain good bacteria.
• Identify food allergies and intolerances and eliminate those foods – Common allergenic foods like gluten, dairy, soy and corn can contribute to symptoms.

Supplements:

• Try magnesium – Magnesium can help decrease anxiety in magnesium–deficient people.
• Probiotics - In addition to eating fermented foods, taking a blended probiotic supplement can help nourish the good gut bacteria.
• Calming herbs - Certain herbs are calming, such as chamomile, lavender, passionflower or valerian. You could start with a chamomile or other herbal tea to soothe anxiety.

​Lifestyle:

• Gut health – If anxiety persists and / or you have digestive symptoms, look into gut health with a professional who can identity any specific gut conditions and help you to rebalance.
• Deep breathing – Breathing exercises can help put you into a calmer state and slow both heart rate and blood pressure.
• Reduce and manage stress – Try practicing yoga, mindfulness or meditation to reduce feeling stressed.
• Process any past traumas - Consider working with an expert to help you.
• Look at your sleep - Issues like sleep apnea or insomnia can contribute to anxiety.

 
Anxiety is difficult to cope with and can have different causes. Try out some of these tips to see if you can reduce your anxiety. In more complex situations it may be better to work with a professional to support you on the road to addressing anxiety. Book in for a consultation if you are concerned about your anxiety or want some support in making these changes.
 
By Bronwen Carmichael & Nicola Schuler