Nutrition and Anxiety

 The role of nutrition in anxiety has long been suspected as one factor that contributes to an increase in anxiety and the uncomfortable feelings of anxiety.  While specific foods that provoke anxiety vary from person to person, common food ingredients are shown to produce higher levels of anxiety in almost everyone.  Some of these ingredients include caffeine, excess salt, food preservatives, herbal food additives and artificial hormone supplements in meat and dairy products.

     Caffeine is one chief culprit in how what you eat and drink effects your level of anxiety.  From too many cups of coffee, to that extra soda just before bedtime, caffeine and its stimulant effects, can be a leading factor in anxiety, insomnia, and restlessness.  Monitoring both your caffeine intake from foods such as coffee, soda, tea, and chocolate, and your levels of anxiety can offer some insight into how caffeine effects you and your body.

     The role of sodium (salt) in the body is well understood as an electrolyte important in the regulation of fluid movement into and out of the bodies cells.  In this capacity, sodium (salt) is necessary and helpful.  However with the increased levels of processed food in today's diet, the average daily sodium (salt) intake is also increasing.  It is proven that increased levels of sodium do lead to other health issues including hypertension (high blood pressure), water retention and edema, cardiac issues and possibly even alteration of other vital electrolyte levels in the body.  Any of these health conditions can lead to increased levels of anxiety.

     Food preservatives are suspected of causing increased anxiety as well as numerous other problems in the human body.  With so many preservatives and additives in the food that we eat, the effects of these combinations of artificial chemicals can only be described as uncharted territory that merits further research.

     Herbal food additives are another suspected cause of increased anxiety related to nutrition.  Sports drinks and supplements containing ginseng, gingko biloba, and other herbal ingredients are common in today's diet.  Some people know that they have adverse effects from these foods and avoid them, while others just reduce their intake of foods containing known herbal food additives and see improvement in their symptoms.

     Artificial hormone supplements in both meat and dairy products are an additional suspected cause of increased anxiety related to nutrition.  There is a community of thought that hormones in the foods we eat somehow travel up the food chain and begin to influence our own body systems.  This intake of artificial hormones could lead to symptoms such as mood swings, headache, menstrual irregularities, and even increased levels of anxiety.

     The first step in reducing anxiety through nutrition is to assess how you feel when you eat foods that contain the above ingredients.  Do your anxiety levels rise when you have that third cup of coffee? Next, when you have identified anxiety producing foods and ingredients, either eliminate or reduce your intake of these items until your anxiety symptoms improve.  Total abstinence may not be necessary from these foods, but just careful regulation and consumption.  Knowing that all of these ingredients can play a role in increased levels of anxiety related to nutrition can help you to make better food and nutrition choices in your diet.