Anxiety can be normal when you’re worried about the outcome of an event, when you’re scared about the future, or when you are expectant. But, recently, anxiety can be an indicator of an underlying underlying disease when feelings become excessive, all-consuming and interfere with daily living.
How you deal with anxiety matters a lot, so it doesn’t escalate and become a disorder.
Sometimes, anxiety could be as a result of:
- Battling with a mental health issue such as depression can raise the chances of having anxiety.
- Going through negative life events like, emotional and verbal abuse, sexual assault, losing a loved one, and much more.
- The use of certain medication which has an effect of stimulating the nervous system resulting in symptoms of anxiety.
- Having certain underlying illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, can make you anxious all the time.
In reality, anxiety does more than just getting you scared, worried, or perhaps disconnected from people. It can raise alarm for certain health concerns such as,
- Having psychological issues which include bipolar disorder, mood swings, psychotic disorder, eating disorder, and much more.
- You may get tempted to abuse substances like drugs, or alcohol.
- The digestive tract gets compromised
- Insomnia may become the new norm
- Poor quality of life takes the lead
Have you been battling with anxiety for some time now, and have tried quite a lot but still faced with such? Relax, there are dietary means to help curb its effect:
- Try bananas- yes! You heard right. Bananas are so helpful when it comes to anxiety management. Findings have shown that consuming bananas can help keep anxiety symptoms far from you. This fruit is a natural beta-blocker that helps block the effect of adrenaline which can trigger anxiety. A research showed that women who ate about 2 fingers of bananas daily were less likely to report symptoms of anxiety. Also, the B vitamin content of banana helps in the production of serotonin (the feel good hormone) which improves mood and anxiety. Findings have also shown that tryptophan (an amino acid) found in banana reduces anxiety and promotes rest and relaxation.
- Incoporate fatty fishes- foods such as salmon, mackerel, has been shown to help improve anxiety symptoms effectively. A study reported that individuals who battled anxiety and consumed fatty fishes had their symptoms reduced by 18-34%. Also, another study reported improvements in patients by 20% after consuming fatty fishes for about 3 months.
- Incorporate turmeric into your diet- curcumin, an active component found in turmeric has been proven to help perform wonders when it comes to anxiety. It helps to support the gut microbiota, reduces inflammation which alters the feel good hormones (serotonin, dopamine) by increasing the chances of anxiety. A study showed that individuals who consumed turmeric for about 30 days had their anxiety symptoms reduced.
- Stock up on yogurt- findings have shown that there is a link between the gut health and the brain. Consuming a food such as the low fat yogurt can help improve the gut health which would positively slow down stress and anxiety. Findings have shown that chronic inflammation may partly influence anxiety and consuming foods such as yogurt would be helpful.
- Chamomile : it’s a herb that could be made into tea. It contains some antioxidants that can help lower inflammation associated with anxiety. Also, it may help regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, a central part of the body’s stress response.
Remember, you can keep anxiety at bay by just consuming the right quantity of these foods in your diet. Thinking of how to start? Your dietitian is here for you. We are just a click away!
SOURCES:
1.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3600408/
2.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7728608/
3.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839572/
