Diet and nutrition should be a focus in anybody’s plan for recovery when they are living with an anxiety disorder.
Foods To Eat For Anxiety
Eating foods which reduce energy and create more calm in the mind are helpful for living with anxiety.
- Protein: Protein helps the brain regulate itself in addition to giving the body strength it needs to carry the anxiety in the muscles. From different kinds of protein come different kinds of benefits, like vitamin B, omega-3 fatty acids, and other important vitamins and nutrients
- Tryptophan: The sleepy vitamin is primarily found in turkey, which is a great source of protein. Tryptophan is what causes you to get sleepy after thanksgiving dinner when large amounts of turkey is consumed. Tryptophan helps to mellow out the hyper energy of anxiety disorders.
- Probiotics: A happy guy equals a happy mind. Gut bacteria strongly interacts with mood and cognitive functioning which are important for managing anxiety. Yogurts and fermented foods help create healthy bacteria which have a positive influence on the mind
Foods To Avoid Eating For Anxiety
Avoiding anxiety through the use of food primarily involves avoiding foods which over stimulate the body and the brain. Problematically, anxiety can cause cravings for exactly these kinds of foods, for emotional eating, eating to avoid, or by participating in harmful behaviors.
- Sugary Sweets: candy, sugary treats, and anything with an excess amount of sugar won’t help the anxious mind but hurt it. Anxiety causes the brain to run on full steam and then some. Eating sugar-rich food only excites the mind more and makes it more challenging to regulate mood and emotion.
- Caffeinated Beverages: Caffeine is a stimulant just like sugar is. Consuming too much caffeine when you’re living with anxiety can result in too much nervous energy, which can cause even more nervous energy. Be wary, many caffeinated beverages also have high amounts of sugar.
- Alcohol: Alcohol creates sugar in the blood stream and has high amounts of sugar when it is based in carbohydrates and when it is used in a mix drink with simple sugar syrups. Though alcohol is a depressant, it can have the wrong effect on the mind. Having a mental health issue like anxiety puts someone at a higher risk of developing an alcohol use disorder which can lead to full chemical dependency on alcohol.
Avalon By The Sea is one of California’s only residential treatment facilities providing care for primary mental health diagnoses like anxiety disorders. For a confidential assessment and more information on our transformative programs for healing, call us today at 1 888-958-7511.
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