Food And Anxiety

Anxiety, like stress, is an organism’s response to extreme situations, characterized by a feeling of mild anguish or fear, and the appearance of rapid heart rate and respiration, sweating or a feeling of weakness. This condition can accompany us on a specific or chronic basis, weakening our health and plunging us into states that can border on gravity.

Thus, the temporary anxiety associated with a specific event does not pose a problem in the long term. The worrying thing is when that reality and the changes that cortisol orchestrates in the body, diminish basic processes in the body. The heart, blood circulation, digestion, and even the immune system are hit by chronic stress.

It is therefore advisable to always have professional help to better deal with these conditions. Also, food can play a role in anxiety . Let’s see it next.

Anxiety and eating

One of the main symptoms of anxiety is emotional hunger. It is common that when we go through times of great pressure and worry, we experience a greater craving in terms of desires to consume very sweet or very salty foods.

This behavior in our eating patterns can make the situation much worse. Therefore, it is convenient to take into account what they reveal to us from a study by Harvard University: a change in diet can alleviate anxiety.

In this way, we must bear in mind that when it comes to reducing the presence of this condition on a day-to-day basis, we need three very clear approaches:

• Psychological strategies.
• Changes in lifestyle habits.
• Improved diet.

For our part, we encourage you to introduce 11 foods into your diet today. With them you will take care of well-being and help you feel better to reduce the impact of anxiety and stress.

1. Salmon

Salmon is a food high in omega 3. And a study published in 2011 by the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity revealed that omega-3 supplementation in medical students decreased anxiety symptoms.

2. Kefir against anxiety

A study published in the journal Psychiatry Research suggested a link between probiotic foods and a decrease in social anxiety. Eating foods high in probiotics like pickles, sauerkraut, and kefir were associated with fewer symptoms.

3. Almonds

Almonds are high in magnesium. In a study in mice, it was seen that diets low in magnesium could induce symptoms of anxiety.

5. Algae

As a study by the University of Modena in Italy reveals, seaweed could be an appropriate treatment to reduce the symptoms of menopause, especially depressive symptoms.

6. Chocolate

In 2019, the magazine Depression and Anxiety published a study carried out on 13,626 adults. From this it could be deduced that the consumption of chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, may be associated with a lower probability of clinically relevant depressive symptoms.

7. Infusion of lemon balm to combat anxiety

Melissa or lemon balm, is an anxiolytic plant ideal to take every day after your meals. Reduce stress and relax. In fact, as explained in a study by the University of Avignon, in France,  lemon balm is one of the most suitable natural resources for treating stress states.

Ingredients

• 1 glass of water (200 ml).
• A tablespoon of lemon balm (15 g).
• 1 tablespoon of honey (25 g).

Preparation

• Add the water to a pot and bring to a boil.
• When it boils, remove from the heat and add those 15 grams of lemon balm or lemon balm.
• Let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Next, separate the leaves from the infusion with a strainer.
• Add the honey and let it rest for 5 more minutes.

8. Nuts

Nuts such as walnuts or almonds are used in these cases because they contain vitamin B, which seems to play a role in mitigating symptoms of anxiety.

9. Tips for your daily life

• Reduce the coffee, better drink infusions of fruits or herbs or aromatic waters.

• Drink between 6 and 8 glasses of water, essential for the proper functioning of all the body’s organs.
• Establish a meal schedule, what time you are going to have breakfast, lunch and eat, that I know something you are going to follow day after day at the same time.
• Maintain some type of physical activity, it provides benefits to the body and your mind
• Try to eat a lot of fruits or vegetables.
• Do not consume alcohol or cigarettes, these bad habits only cause ailments to the body.

Improve eating to reduce anxiety

To conclude, these tips are ideal for reducing the impact of anxiety. Remember, though, this approach to eating is complementary.

These states need psychological strategies to better manage this knot of tensions, problems and complex emotions. Do not hesitate to ask for professional help and promote a positive change in your life.