Anxiety. Chances are you either suffer from it, or you know someone who does.
Anxiety can be broadly defined as excessive or obsessive fear or worry about a range of different things; the unknown future, your health, or just everyday life. It often manifests physically – hello rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, fast breathing, or generally feeling like there’s an elephant sitting on your chest.
While anxiety can be caused by a whole raft of factors like genetics, environment, major events, or just modern life, turns out what you eat can also play a role in anxiety symptoms.
Here are four foods you might want to avoid if you’re feeling anxious.
Sugar: Surprise! Another reason we’re just not wrapped in eating buckets of the sweet stuff. Thing is, a high-sugar diet can lead to rapid spikes and crashes in our blood sugar levels. Our body reads these changes as a danger siren, leading to feelings of anxiety and irritability.
Caffeine: Caffeine is a stimulant, a class of drug that can increase your heart rate and blood pressure. These physiological changes are often experienced by the coffee drinker as anxiety. High doses of caffeine, especially near bedtime, can interrupt our sleep cycles, which can further contribute to those anxious feels.
Processed Foods: Processed foods are often high in sugar (see above) and preservatives, many of which have been linked to anxiety symptoms. These franken-foods can also upset the delicate balance of bacteria in our digestive system, which is known to play a role in mood regulation (the gut-brain connection is real, folks!).
Alcohol: Alcohol is kind of the opposite to caffeine in the sense that it’s a depressant, meaning it slows down your nervous system rather than speeds it up. But it’s also a toxin, and can send the body totally haywire consumed in large quantities – cue feelings of anxiety and panic. Alcohol can also interfere with our sleep patterns, exacerbating feelings of worry and fear.
While cutting out these foods from your diet might not cure diagnosed anxiety, reducing your intake might help alleviate some of your symptoms and improve your overall wellbeing.
If you're experiencing persistent feelings of worry, sadness, or overwhelming tiredness, it's always best to get a little guidance from a mental health professional.