Diet and anxiety are undoubtedly related. However, some background knowledge is required before delving more into the relationship between nutrition and anxiety.
Anxiety: Contextual Details
One of the mental health conditions that is identified the most frequently is anxiety disorder. The majority of people encounter this emotion at some point throughout their lives.
Excessive and frequent sensations of anxiousness, fear, and concern that interfere with our ability to manage our daily responsibilities are the hallmarks of anxiety disorders. One in four people will be diagnosed with anxiety at some point in their lives, according to Mental Health Research Canada.
Anxiety has significantly increased among Canadians in recent decades. Indeed, it has in numerous nations.
Furthermore, those without anxiety disorders are not the only ones affected by anxiety. The reason for this is that anxiety is a symptom and emotion that nearly everyone experiences at some point in their lives. However, the symptoms are typically modest and do not interfere with our daily life.
It’s crucial that we adequately care for ourselves when we begin to feel pressured and anxious. Usually, psychopharmacology and psychotherapy are used to treat anxiety disorders. However, a brand new discipline called nutritional psychology is developing with the goal of examining the relationship between food, diet and nutrition.
The impact that our nutrition has on our health is undeniable. Nevertheless, little research has been done on how nutrition affects mental illnesses.
Furthermore, even though there is proof of the advantages, people with anxiety are rarely advised to use nutritional therapies and methods. Therefore, it’s crucial that nutritional psychology study be carried out and that experts understand the wide range of impacts that nutrition has on both physical and mental health.
Therefore, we want to give a summary of some of the ways that nutrition affects anxiety in this piece. Whether you suffer from a diagnosed anxiety illness or have anxiety in your daily life, we also want to focus on dietary methods to assist reduce anxiety.
Let’s examine the precise ways that nutrition affects anxiety in more detail.
What Impact Does Diet Have on Anxiety?
Carbohydrates and Sugars
Diet has been linked to anxiety, according to research. We must first examine the function of sugars and carbs in order to investigate this further.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that eating a lot of sugar may worsen anxiety symptoms. Simple and refined carbs have the same impact.
In essence, there is usually a correlation between higher anxiety and foods that have a higher glycemic index. One measure that shows how rapidly various foods raise your blood sugar is the glycemic index. Foods that are heavy in simple or processed carbs and sugars tend to have a higher glycemic index, which means they can quickly raise blood sugar levels significantly.
Frequent blood sugar increases over an extended period of time can harm brain function and cause hormonal and neurotransmitter abnormalities that exacerbate anxiety. It has also ben demonstrated that a diet heavy in sugar and simple or refined carbs reduces neuroplasticity.
Furthermore, a number of research have shown a link between elevated anxiety levels and higher consumption of simple carbohydrates. Overall, studies indicate that eating a lot of sugar and simple carbohydrates might exacerbate anxiety and harm brain function.
Many people get a lot of sugar via processed meals like candy, bars, sodas, packaged, snacks, and other sweetened drinks. There are other substitutes for these goods.
For instance, you might decide to consume fresh fruit rather than prepared snacks or candies with fruit flavors. Likewise, you may use homemade smoothies, fruit juice, or lemon water in place of soda.
Simple adjustments like replacing sugary cereals with oatmeal or eggs for breakfast could have a big impact. In general, eating as much handmade and fresh food as possible is preferable to manufactured foods.
Fiber
It is impossible to ignore the significance that fiber plays when analyzing how food affects anxiety.
Fiber has been shown to have positive impacts on anxiety reduction.
A study that examined the fiber consumption of thousands of adults found that a higher intake of fiber was linked to a lower risk of anxiety. They found that persons who consumed more than 25 grams of fiber per day were almost 30% less likely to suffer from psychological and anxiety disorders. Additionally, on average, this group tended to consume more proteins, vitamins, and iron.
Depending on age and sex, a daily consumption of 25-38g of fiber is advised. However, the typical Canadian only consumes 14g each day. This is obviously far less than the suggested amount.
In addition to reducing anxiety, eating enough fiber has additional positive health impacts. These include the potential to lower the risk of heart disease, better digestion, and an improved gut microbiota.
Fruits, vegetables, legumes (such as beans, peas, and lentils), and whole grains are foods that are high in fiber.
One can boost their intake of fiber by making a number of simple modifications in their daily lives.
For instance, you can use whole grain instead of white bread or wheat. White rice can also be used in place of brown or wild rice. You can successfully increase your intake of fiber by include a wider range of veggies in meals you already enjoy.
Finally, you might try increasing the amount of vegetables and legumes in your diet. This might be as simple as eating more vegetables as a snack or learning new recipes that contain them, such quinoa salad, leek soup, lentil soup, zucchini bread, and many more.
Fats
Without including fats, no article about anxiety and diet would be complete.
When it comes to anxiety, fats and sweets work similarly. High fat diets have been linked to worsening anxiety and brain function, according to several research. This is especially true for diets heavy in saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol.
A study examined the effects of a high-fat diet on the brains of mice using brain imaging techniques. According to their findings, a prolonged high fat diet can accelerate aging, induce inflammation, and reduce neuroplasticity.
They also found that eating a lot of fat can cause problems with insulin and glucose balance, stress hormone levels, and anxiety.
But not all fats are bad for you. According to other research, omega-3 fatty acids can have the reverse impact and lessen anxiety. Two of the three studies found that omega-3 supplementation reduced anxiety, while the third found no impact. Omega-3 fatty acids of the EPA, DHA, and ALA types have been demonstrated to reduce inflammation, which may have negative consequences on the brain and the psyche. Whereas ALA omega-3 is usually obtained from plants, EPA and DHA omega-3 are commonly found in fish and shellfish.
A Mediterranean diet high in unsaturated fats may help lower anxiety and enhance glycemic management, according to another study.
According to this data, consuming more foods high in omega-3 fatty acids and unsaturated fats and fewer meals high in trans and saturated fats may help reduce anxiety symptoms.
Red meat, butter, ,margarine, highly processed foods, commercial baked goods, and other animal products are a few examples of foods that are high in saturated and trans fats.
On the other side, foods like eggs, nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, fish, and other seafood are examples of foods strong in omega 3 fatty acids and unsaturated fats that you might want to include more of in your diet.
Vitamins
When we talk about the connection between nutrition and anxiety, we also need to talk about the impact that vitamins play. Nevertheless, there isn’t much study on how vitamins affect anxiety. The limited amount of study and data available on the subject is equivocal for the majority of vitamins.
Vitamin B may help lower anxiety, according to a small number of study studies. Specifically, vitamin B6 may reduce anxiety by influencing specific hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain.
Low levels of vitamin B6 were linked to symptoms of anxiety and sadness, according to one study that examined individuals’ vitamin B6 intake. In a another study, over 500 people with anxiety or depression reported that their symptoms improved after they took large amounts of vitamin B6 tablets. This may imply that consuming more vitamin B6 could help reduce anxiety symptoms.
Consuming foods high in the target vitamin can boost vitamin consumption through diet. Vitamin B can be found in foods such meats, milk, eggs, and seafood.
Similar to this, there is some evidence that vitamin C may help reduce anxiety. According to a study done on a group of high school students, those who took vitamin C supplements reported feeling less anxious than those who received a placebo.
Increasing your intake of vitamin C may help lower anxiety if you are suffering from a vitamin C deficit or don’t eat many foods high in vitamin C. Citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables, and berries are a few foods that are high in vitamin C.
Other Nutrients
Furthermore, nothing is known about how other nutrients affect anxiety.
When it comes to the influence of protein diet on anxiety, data is inconsistent. Few studies have been done on this subject, and the findings are inconsistent. All things considered, it’s crucial to make sure you get a sufficient and healthful amount of protein for your age, weight, and gender.
Other studies have indicated that iron shortage may worsen mental health conditions, such as anxiety, and have shown that iron deficit improves anxiety and depression.
The Impact of Nutrition on Anxiety: Concluding Remarks
In today’s world, anxiety is still a problem for a growing number of people.
Many people find that they can reduce their anxiety symptoms and emotions by implementing dietary recommendations into their daily lives.
Furthermore, nutritional methods are occasionally simpler to initiate or apply than pharmaceutical methods. It’s crucial to consult a medical professional about the finest techniques for you if you suffer from anxiety.
Finally, in order to better understand how diet might affect mental health and how diet can be utilized to promote mental health wellbeing, it is crucial that research in the field of nutritional psychology keeps evolving.
SOURCE: JM NUTRITION
