Want to know if your diet is affecting your anxiety levels? These are the foods that increase anxiety that you need to know about.
There is a lot of information out there now about how our gut affects our brain. If you want to know the foods that will help, read more here. If you want to know foods that increase anxiety keep reading.
Today we’re going to take a look at the foods that increase anxiety and a little bit of the science behind it, so you know exactly how this food is affecting you.
After reading this blog you’ll have a better understanding of how to balance your mental health.
*Disclaimer* I am not a medical professional, all advice given on this website is from my own research and experience. It is recommended you seek medical help to help with anything struggles you are experiencing.
This post is all about the four foods that increase anxiety that everyone should know about.
Foods that Increase Anxiety.
The aim of the game is to help our body heal. If you haven’t read about foods to help with anxiety (check it out), then you might not know that anxiety and depression can be caused by unseen stress the body is going through. An imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the gut can prevent the body from healing itself back to stability. And the gut is where 95% of our serotonin (happiness hormone) is made!
So we have noted foods that can help us regain balance in the body. Today we will look at foods that tip the balance against our favour.
First up and I don’t want to say it but….
Coffee.
I don’t want to say this one in case you love coffee as much as I do. Mocha coffees, Caramel lattes, Iced caramel lattes. Ahhh I’m in heaven just thinking about them.
But they have to go. I’m on top of my mental health these days and feeling the best I’ve ever felt in general, but if I ever feel stress creeping in or any sign of anxiety I cut the caffeine immediately. As good as it is, if your body is currently struggling to maintain balance in keeping the scales more towards happiness, caffeine is the devil.
It’s also an idea to put a cap on how much coffee you drink in a day even when you are back to full health. I try to limit myself to two cups a day, one in the morning and one before 3 pm (because you don’t want it to affect your sleep). On very, very rare occasions I’ll let myself have 3, if I’m extremely tired and have a lot to combat. However, I am always very aware of my stress and anxiety levels, this is mainly what dictates my coffee levels. If I sense a little too much tension my caffeine either gets reduced to one or completely removed.
If you still feel like you need a hot drink of something, try a herbal tea, matcha tea or green tea. Green tea and matcha tea are said to reduce your feelings of anxiety and also give you the focus you need (Matcha is my go-to but it is an acquired taste). Or try some herbal teas that help with anxiety symptoms – turmeric and honey or camomile.
Next up in all the good things we can’t have…
Sugar.
I know you want it when you don’t feel great and you think it will make you happy, but actually, it gives you instant gratification which later leads to your blood sugar levels increasing and therefore an increase in the feelings you experience with anxiety, the extra energy and shakiness.
I heard a great quote once that said healthy feels good afterwards, unhealthy feels good before. When you think of the cake or chocolate, you get a surge of a good feeling before you eat it just thinking about it, but a few seconds after eating it the good feeling has gone. When you think about exercise you don’t want to do it, but afterwards, you feel great. The same goes for healthy food, afterwards your body with thank you, so try to ignore that initial happy thought about eating the chocolate and think of how good you’ll feel for eating something a little more healthy.
With the removal of sugar, we also want to remove artificial sweeteners, if you want to sweeten your tea try more natural alternatives like honey or maple syrup. Also if you really need a little taste of chocolate or something sweet after a meal, reach for a piece of dark (70%) chocolate, this can help ease your symptoms but without the side effects you get from other chocolates.
I understand this one is difficult to do, but if you remind yourself these things are making you feel worse, think of alternatives you can reach for instead of the sugars.
That leads us on to…
Refined Carbs and processed foods.
These have the same effect as sugar, they spike the blood sugar levels and so give us the symptoms we hate. Try to keep your foods as natural to the state they are found in nature as possible, this way you can know you’re supporting your body, gut and mental health as much as possible.
There are more great things we have to remove? Nooo!
Next up on the naughty step…
Alcohol.
More things we don’t want to hear. 🤣😒 Alcohol like sugar treats has a short-term benefit, it makes us feel a little numb to the pain of anxiety or depression when we drink it and so it seems like it’s a good idea. However, alcohol is a depressant, it changes the chemical balance in your brain and affects neurochemicals which control your mood. Ignoring the physical symptoms of a hangover, like nausea and headaches, think about how you generally feel the next day. I don’t know about you but I’ve never woken up feeling ecstatic (unless I was still drunk). It also affects your sleep which can heavily impact your mood too.
I’m not saying you can never drink again, but while we are on the road to recovery we need to monitor our mood balance and eat and drink accordingly. If I notice my mood is slightly off, I’ll enjoy a night with friends without alcohol or with a limit of one drink. To me, overall happiness is more important than one night out.
Let’s talk about food intolerances.
It’s a good idea to speak to your doctor to help discover if you do have any food intolerances.
First up let’s talk about gluten.
Studies have found that those who suffer from gluten intolerance can also experience feelings of depression or anxiety.
Let’s talk Dairy.
Dairy can effect us negatively even if we are not lactose intolerant. Diary, in large amounts can effect our adrenaline levels and reduce our magnesium levels. Magnesium is involved in physiological processes which help ease the symptoms of anxiety and stress.
So now we have a better understanding of the 3 main culprits for making us feel worse and that an intolerance could also affect us. I found cutting them all out completely until I felt like my old self did wonders. Once I felt ready I slowly introduced them back into my life, from this I understood how they affect me and to listen to my body to know what’s the right move when consuming them.
I know 2 coffees a day is my general limit, and if any extra stress is added to my life I back it down to one and zero if need be. When I drink alcohol it’s only for occasions, usually with friends and I don’t take it overboard. I limit my chocolate to dark chocolate, or a sweet treat at the weekend and the same applies to any takeaways or refined carbs and processed foods.
It’ll be tough to start but trust me having your normal self back, and a greater sense of peace and happiness is worth more than any of these treats.
You got this warrior.
Speak soon
Bianca.
This post was all about the 4 Foods that Increase Anxiety.
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