Food and Anxiety

[DJP]

Hello All,

Has anyone ever done an experiment to see what foods (if any) exacerbate your anxiety / panic symptoms? There is an excellent book entitled "Heal Your Headache" that discusses the food / migraine connection. One of the key tenets is that migraine sufferers have a threshold and that many factors can push one over the threshold. For example, a piece of chocolate and ten peanuts may not cause a problem on any given day, but if the barometer is dropping, the food along with the weather change could push you over the edge and give you a headache.

I wonder if the same is true for panic / anxiety? Sometimes I feel that certain foods will dramatically quicken my pulse, setting off an anxiety episode. Maybe some days I can have a food item, and it will have no effect, but combine it with additives, excessive sugar, and subconscious stress and it starts the panic cycle.

Again, please share any tips related to diet that have dramatically helped your anxiety. Thank you in advance.

[Goomba]

I have definitely noticed the connection between sometimes eating and then having a racing or pounding heart. Sometimes it makes my insides feel very "tight" as well. This happened to me yesterday, actually, and I got a bad headache that lasted until I went to sleep.

I didn't have any anxiety with it, but definitely had those symptoms, and have had them before. It always seems so random, so it's hard to find a connection.

[jessed03]

If foods are causing you problems, you may have too much inflammation in your body. This can keep your amygdala on high alert, cause histamine reactions which can affect your blood sugar, and upset your serotonin balance.

Foods can cause horrible problems in some people, enough to give them anxiety and panic attacks.

For a while I played around with reducing certain items, limiting certain items, but I felt that was too superficial. Decided instead to tackle inflammation. It really is the cause of so many health disorders.

[Goomba]

What did you do to tackle inflammation/any results?

[jessed03]

I went on the GAPS/SCD diet. It was tough, but life changing.

There are lots of theories on anti-inflammation though, so I hope nobody just dives right into either of the diets I mentioned. I know I would have if I'd have read something like this several years ago. :). Do some reading and talk to some folks in the know. Oh, and read about adrenal health too. That poor little gland gets its ass kicked during a period of anxiety. For some people, psychological stress goes, but they're never able to repair the physical damage done to their body or endocrine system, just because they don't really know how. Symptoms persist, yet they're never really sure why. Answer's usually inflammation/hormones.

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/anti-inflammatory-diet-road-to-good-health?page=1

[A.Lynne]

I've had anxiety for years now and I noticed soda and coffee makes anxiety much worse. Switching to drinking all water and lightly sugared juices helped :)

[greightful]

Good point A.Lynne. I think that may be part of my problem. I LOVE coffee. But, I'm sure it contributes to anxiety. I should probably stop. I watched a documentary about 1 to 2 years ago called, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." Have you heard of it? It's about a guy who had all kinds of health problems. Then, he went on a juice fast and the health problems went away. I don't think we have to get as extreme as fasting. But, the point is, eating healthier has got to make a difference. It's just very hard. I say I'm going to eat healthier, then I don't. I really don't want to give up my coffee.

[A.Lynne]

I haven't seen that but hopefully it's on Netflix lol. Eating healthy is super hard, and I'm right there with you on the coffee! I love Starbucks. I notice when I work out it helps. But it's hard to stick to

[greightful]

It is on Netflix. That's where I saw it. After I watched it I was so inspired! I even thought about buying a juicer... I thought about it... And, I'm still thinking about it.

[rosielightshines]

Good point A.Lynne. I think that may be part of my problem. I LOVE coffee. But, I'm sure it contributes to anxiety. I should probably stop. I watched a documentary about 1 to 2 years ago called, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." Have you heard of it? It's about a guy who had all kinds of health problems. Then, he went on a juice fast and the health problems went away. I don't think we have to get as extreme as fasting. But, the point is, eating healthier has got to make a difference. It's just very hard. I say I'm going to eat healthier, then I don't. I really don't want to give up my coffee.


Hi ((G))) i agree about clean foods making us better...foods that R clean..gmo free...simple...i make most of my foods at home.....i cut waaaay down on processed foods, and if i do eat my ginger snap cookies, they are organic....lay off sugars as much as possible....i love coffee but it stimulates me and anxiety is worse, even decalf....drink plenty of water...simple, organic or at least real clean foods...i think my skim milk is gonna give me some L-tryptophan which can help..dunno..just started...and the place that sells it does not buy from farmers who put growth hormones in their cows....i do agree diet...exercise...meditation....i do my coloring books...started a journal....do the 12 steps for re-parenting me....part of my difficulties is repeating his abusive comments to me, like if i mess up due to not being focused/paying attention, i am real hard on me.....so the 12 steps for reparenting is a little book i got to help me integrate w/my CORE/aka higher parent which lies next to the divine within.....at least thats my opinion, LOL....there is no one size fits all...no cookie cutter fix for anxiety..what works for me may not work 4 another, but if we trade experiences, encouragement, validate each other that is key........i think anxiety is for me, anyway, runaway emotions (fear based big time) and its biological in that my brain has waaaay too much activity with the neurons....too much electricity/action in the brain.....when i am in panic mode, it feels like electrical storms in my head.....i was in flight or fight mode for so long during the abuse, its like i got stuck in the F or F mode.....like an accelerator stuck to the floor board......never really feeling safe...i quit reading the news on the net at night.....i cut out the drama in my life....i cut out a lot of people who R drama queens/kings and/or abusive to me, or invalidate me, i have to shut down and have my quiet time...too much stimulus like too much experience stimulates me and i am more anxious.....so i try to live more simple..quiet....i have more "me time" then i use to......i don't take crap at work from anyone...i stand up for me, set my boundaries and stick to them.....just a few things that i do..OH did i mention exercise?? yea, that too....multi vitamins with good eating habits....5-6 smaller meals in stead of the big 3....

[DJP]

I went on the GAPS/SCD diet. It was tough, but life changing.[/url]

jessed03,

Specifically, how was it life changing?

I do believe you are on to something here. I think many of us are naturally more prone to anxiety / panic, but other factors like inflammation, hormones, vitamin deficiencies and even constant, undetected dehydration all combine to create anxiety that is manifested physically. I am desperate enough to experiment and try anything. I have gotten to the point where the physical symptoms associated with the rapid heartbeat feeling is unbearable. I'd rather experience pain.

[salvator here]

I think clean living is the key. You are what you eat, remember this when eating junk foods. Personally, I've found I do better when I limit my caffeine intake, and limit the fast food. You can find healthy things to eat at these places, but you'll do better to cook at home and know what you are putting into your dinner.

[Breez]

Hello All,

Has anyone ever done an experiment to see what foods (if any) exacerbate your anxiety / panic symptoms? There is an excellent book entitled "Heal Your Headache" that discusses the food / migraine connection. One of the key tenets is that migraine sufferers have a threshold and that many factors can push one over the threshold. For example, a piece of chocolate and ten peanuts may not cause a problem on any given day, but if the barometer is dropping, the food along with the weather change could push you over the edge and give you a headache.

I wonder if the same is true for panic / anxiety? Sometimes I feel that certain foods will dramatically quicken my pulse, setting off an anxiety episode. Maybe some days I can have a food item, and it will have no effect, but combine it with additives, excessive sugar, and subconscious stress and it starts the panic cycle.

Again, please share any tips related to diet that have dramatically helped your anxiety. Thank you in advance.

Hi DJP, there's definitely a connection between food and well-being (that includes both physical and mental wellness). I notice that when I eat clean, fresh food such as vegetables, green tea, chicken, salmon, etc. I feel much more energized, happy, and healthy. When I eat a hamburger or some nuggets, although it satisfies my cravings, I feel heavy, sluggish, and depressed. I think it's also partly because I know the food is bad for me so I stress out over what I eat, and consequently raise my own anxiety.

Now I stick to an overall diet of eating almost everything but in multiple small portions and drink at least 1 cup of green tea per day. I'm not kidding. Instead of eating a full burger, I'd divide it into thirds and eat them at intervals (like every 6 hours). I also choose to drink water/orange juice instead of soda. Every 2 hours in between, I'd have another snack like roasted seaweed, dried raisins, peanuts, pistachios, etc. It's been working wonders for the past 2 years. I lost 15 pounds and feel light and refreshed (my cholesterol level has also gone back to a healthy level). The most alluring part of this diet is that I don't have to hate myself over eating something unhealthy (because I eat almost everything). Coupled that with some exercises like stretching, jumping in place, and meditation, and you're all set.

I feel blissful and just happy overall. :) Try it!

[jessed03]

jessed03,

Specifically, how was it life changing?

I do believe you are on to something here. I think many of us are naturally more prone to anxiety / panic, but other factors like inflammation, hormones, vitamin deficiencies and even constant, undetected dehydration all combine to create anxiety that is manifested physically. I am desperate enough to experiment and try anything. I have gotten to the point where the physical symptoms associated with the rapid heartbeat feeling is unbearable. I'd rather experience pain.

As you mentioned, my body was full of inflammation and my hormones were out of whack. Heart palpitations, dizziness, disassociation and extreme fatigue were all daily occurrences for me. They weighed me down, leaving me unemployed, single, and down-right miserable!

I did find out I had an autoimmune disorder (related to food), so diet change was probably even more profound for that reason. Still, like Breez said, funny how life changes depending on what we put in our body :)

[brfoo]

I try to follow a paleo diet (just with less meat- i like to balance it out) it takes time to get used to it, but it is very-very good and gives lot of energy while keeping you fit and healthy. I did not know cutting off gluten, sugar and lactose would make this huge difference!

Try out the paleo banana pancakes "banacakes" (gluten, milk and white sugar free, no maple syrup either, but u can use a little honey on top) easy and delcious! I cannot post links:( so i write it down:

You need:
-coconut oil for frying
-4/6 bananas
-5eggs (to keep it together)
- pinch of baking soda (cornstarch free one)-n my opinion even this can be left out
-1 tablespoon of honey/natural sweetener, not needed at all if the banana is sweet enough :)

stir the banana with a fork or a mixer, add everything else and fry it on a lttle coconut oil as you would with normal pancakes. Be a little bit more gentle as it tears more easily. - Easy to make, light and very very tasty!

You can replace bananas with similar texture easy to stir fruits if you would like to experiment!

I also make my own "paleo nutella" , sugar-free. It goes well with the "banacake" and you can make a few jars at a time and store it for later use
you can find a good recipe for this and other super ones on a website called paleospirit, just enter "nutella" in the searchbar

I am not an advocate for paleo diet, but shared because it has a really good effect on my health. ( I have problems with my thyroid)