Can poor diet lead to an anxiety disorder

[richierich25]

Trying to back track my last couple of months before this anxiety disorder struck me. After some long hard thinking I realized my diet was actually pretty bad. Barely ate 2 meals a day because I could not adjust to this night shift, and I slept maybe 4-5 hours day suppressed my appetite. I realized that even when i was eating,40%-50% of meals were not healthy or had no nutritional value. Nothing but coffee, sweets, fried food, ton of soda, beers once in a blue and very little variety in vegetables. I'm still a skinny guy so I guess I thought I was untouchable. Just wondering if my poor diet choices could be the major cause of my anxiety issues? Maybe I was not getting the proper vitamins and minerals for my body needed to remain fuctional and normal?! any thoughts? Only reason I ask is because ever since I changed my diet and incorporated the right foods I noticed I'm starting to feel better 1 day at time.

[Teafrenzy]

Possible but unlikely, IMO.

It may have made your anxiety worse but I don't think it caused an anxiety disorder.

Let me tell you a bit about my history..

In my early 20's I got Crohn's disease. I couldn't eat. If I ate anything I vomited right afterwards. I ended up losing 35 pounds in 2 months. I went from a skinny 165 to a feeble 130. (I am 6 1"). No anxiety whatsoever. Not even health anxiety. I fought and fought and was reluctant to see a doctor. I just figured I would feel better on my own.

In my 30's I worked during nights and sometimes overnights like yourself. I also ate a lot of junk and by this time I eventually ballooned to 250 pounds. (I am now at a reasonable 200). But still no anxiety. Not even health anxiety.

I had a Crohn's flare up in my early 40's and went to the doctor and he commented I had low Vitamin D. But still no problem.

My anxiety didn't come until the stress came.

[richierich25]

Possible but unlikely, IMO.

It may have made your anxiety worse but I don't think it caused an anxiety disorder.

Let me tell you a bit about my history..

In my early 20's I got Crohn's disease. I couldn't eat. If I ate anything I vomited right afterwards. I ended up losing 35 pounds in 2 months. I went from a skinny 165 to a feeble 130. (I am 6 1"). No anxiety whatsoever. Not even health anxiety. I fought and fought and was reluctant to see a doctor. I just figured I would feel better on my own.

In my 30's I worked during nights and sometimes overnights like yourself. I also ate a lot of junk and by this time I eventually ballooned to 250 pounds. (I am now at a reasonable 200). But still no anxiety. Not even health anxiety.

I had a Crohn's flare up in my early 40's and went to the doctor and he commented I had low Vitamin D. But still no problem.

My anxiety didn't come until the stress came.

Wow so despite all that you were going through no anxiety developed until much later. My sister in-law has crohn's and she recently had a flare up that almost took her life. Seeing what she has went through I could only imagine what you've been through. Im just so confused as to how I developed this! was it always in me and decided to show itself? I really have not stress in my life except not sleeping. I am getting married in 2 months and people thought thats why I have anxiety but it really isnt stressful. For me the whole process of setting a date, picking DJ, photography, etc has been so simple and painless. Just purchased a house that was flipped so no repairs were needed. Only thing I can think of is my sleep pattern. just tryna figure it out!

[Ponder]

Absolutely.



Most of today's food (if you can call it that) is full of chemical additives that have as many side effects as most medicines. It pays to know what your eating and source out real food that's not produced in the factory. Sadly the state of chemical pollution is so rife that it can be measured in new born babies. Learning to eat a proper diet and what foods to avoid can greatly help one to avoid developing a predisposition to mental imbalance.

This information is well known ... many kids today are being born with all kinds of mental imbalances due to the foods their parents ate, let along being born into a world that pumps them full of sugar as soon as they hit the birthing table.

[Kirk]

Some studies have shown that modifications to your diet can help alleviate symptoms
of panic or anxiety attacks. Studies have also shown that some foods can make us calmer,
while other foods act as stimulants.

[Teafrenzy]

Absolutely.



Most of today's food (if you can call it that) is full of chemical additives that have as many side effects as most medicines. It pays to know what your eating and source out real food that's not produced in the factory. Sadly the state of chemical pollution is so rife that it can be measured in new born babies. Learning to eat a proper diet and what foods to avoid can greatly help one to avoid developing a predisposition to mental imbalance.

This information is well known ... many kids today are being born with all kinds of mental imbalances due to the foods their parents ate, let along being born into a world that pumps them full of sugar as soon as they hit the birthing table.

Well keep in mind that many things have changed in recent times that could have lead to an increase in anxiety disorder. One of them being the way children are raised today. Generally, overprotected and spoiled. One study shows that people will be more likely to develop anxiety disorders with one strict parent and one overprotective parent. That's exactly how mine were.

In my case I was actually eating very well and exercising daily when I got my disorder. I was at my lowest weight in years, 195. I was eating much more natural and wholesome foods because I was in a country that uses far less preservatives than in North america. Now I concede it is possible that my diet from those previous years could have made me more vulnerable to a disorder. But I had a very specific traumatic event happen to me which set off a phobia and panic attacks. I believe my life of stressful thinking made me far more vulnerable. In fact one of the things I did after experiencing my first symptoms was to stress hard about them.

In the course of my recovery I had tried to eat healthy. I can't say for sure if it had any impact at all. Some days I would just feel terrible and others I would feel a bit better with pretty much the same general diet. On some days, months into recovery and feeling good, I decided to eat some junk food. The junk food didn't seem to matter much either for me. My recovery has been pretty consistent, month after month I have been feeling somewhat better ever since I started to relax over the symptoms and do exposure therapy.

But I do agree, eat well. It certainly can not hurt.

[Ponder]

Well keep in mind that many things have changed in recent times that could have lead to an increase in anxiety disorder. One of them being the way children are raised today. Generally, overprotected and spoiled. One study shows that people will be more likely to develop anxiety disorders with one strict parent and one overprotective parent. That's exactly how mine were.

In my case I was actually eating very well and exercising daily when I got my disorder. I was at my lowest weight in years, 195. I was eating much more natural and wholesome foods because I was in a country that uses far less preservatives than in North america. Now I concede it is possible that my diet from those previous years could have made me more vulnerable to a disorder. But I had a very specific traumatic event happen to me which set off a phobia and panic attacks. I believe my life of stressful thinking made me far more vulnerable. In fact one of the things I did after experiencing my first symptoms was to stress hard about them.

In the course of my recovery I had tried to eat healthy. I can't say for sure if it had any impact at all. Some days I would just feel terrible and others I would feel a bit better with pretty much the same general diet. On some days, months into recovery and feeling good, I decided to eat some junk food. The junk food didn't seem to matter much either for me. My recovery has been pretty consistent, month after month I have been feeling somewhat better ever since I started to relax over the symptoms and do exposure therapy.

But I do agree, eat well. It certainly can not hurt.

Undoubtedly Teafrenzy. My response is in context with the Title of this thread; not upbringing. I'm well aware of many factors within our society that perpetuate today's epidemic of anxiety. It's not an easy subject to talk about nor one that many want to hear. Our Society is very sick. In keeping with the OP's original question I'll simply say - "We are what we eat." But that's the simply reply; most people don't even know what it is that they eat. The latter is typically not investigated until illness follows - In many cases until it's too late.


Although not relevant to the OP's question and off track to my first response ... With regard to upbringing. I focus less on the text of research papers and their findings but more on my own or another's actual experience. Thx for the fleeting glimpse into your own. I was raised in a wide variety of children's homes where I was yadda yadaa and so on ... (more like bla bla these days) long story short, there came a time where I had let go of all that baggage and accept responsibility for the way that I now act, think & feel; that if I wish to keep from becoming unwell. Clinging to the past and using such studies to reason/analyze one's anxiety did/does little to help move. Your right though, things are changing for the better. There are more mental health professionals adopting new strategies that help people understand more of one's core issues through facing them; rather than escaping them. Blame and shame are more resultant from the verbalizing of research findings whilst self reflection and acceptance helps us move on.


This method, universally known as phycotherapy I find to be one of the many important changes to helping combat the toxicity within our systems regardless of how it formed. It is the implementation of more than one recovery method that best corrects instability as opposed to the the multiple identifications and ruminations of what does not work, but rather holds us back.


As stated in another thread on "Doing the work" it's never a simple case ... BUT ... that said, I think the Title of this thread is an excellent topic and states it's simple enough.

My answer to that point is still a resounding YES!

If I may end to add an antidote your own and once again put us back on topic: Eating well sets the way to a healthy mind, whilst eating unwell will surely see it decline. Just as lack of water and sun will see green pastures fade.

The best we can do with limited choices is accept the beginning of a new cycle rather than view such a binding - as a sinking of a ship. Positive mindsets in the face of adversity give us the will to make better choices.
___________________________________
Edit ... "There are no chemical solutions to lifestyle related problems except that those that we change within. Both have an impact on the other and are as vital as the sun."
Awesome ... I like that ... it's a positive extension on my usual statement re chemicals. I'm going to keep working on that. Very grateful for this thread. TY OP. Good call!!!

[Ponder]

Trying to back track my last couple of months before this anxiety disorder struck me. After some long hard thinking I realized my diet was actually pretty bad. Barely ate 2 meals a day because I could not adjust to this night shift, and I slept maybe 4-5 hours day suppressed my appetite. I realized that even when i was eating,40%-50% of meals were not healthy or had no nutritional value. Nothing but coffee, sweets, fried food, ton of soda, beers once in a blue and very little variety in vegetables. I'm still a skinny guy so I guess I thought I was untouchable. Just wondering if my poor diet choices could be the major cause of my anxiety issues? Maybe I was not getting the proper vitamins and minerals for my body needed to remain fuctional and normal?! any thoughts? Only reason I ask is because ever since I changed my diet and incorporated the right foods I noticed I'm starting to feel better 1 day at time.

Your on the right track! Just make the healthiest choices you can. More fruits and Veggies and less meat. I won't even begin to claim any one way ... there is not.

I started about two years ago now. I just kept it simple ... at leas in the beginning. It was more my will to want to get better that has seen me lose a ton of unhealthy weight rather than finding out some secret in a book. Having said that though I have found a lot of info that has helped. That's more for later though.


Work on avoiding the toxic crap to start with. It's hard enough to stop going through the drive throughs and all over convenience food troughs at the mall and on the streets. Once you nail that stop bring junk and processed foods home from the store. Give away and just throw out what's already in the shelves. It only gets better from there. Don't worry about changing diary, meat, poultry and or going vegan or paleo ... that's too much effort and will see many fail from the start. Been there done that. The time will come when your feeling stronger to experiment with all that and find out for yourself. Forget going by whatever findings. That kind of analytic process just leads people into reading what they want. Go by your own results ... what you feel to be on track or not.

Damn it ... I got to go dude. Srry ... I just wanted to relay a few tips that have helped shaped the new me. I was sick as hell on a variety of mind stabilizers and chronically overweight!!! The only study I have to work off is the one I have put together myself. The above tips are just universal ones I have no doubt that will help if your able to follow them. Fact is ... they are not that appealing to most people already sick. It really is about giving up addictions and food today is as hard to give up as cigarettes and or heroin.

Goto go ... You can do it. Instead of viewing toxins as OK in moderation - The best way to come off them is to view nutritional foods as OK in moderation. Before you know it, the less crap you consume the more you will feel just how sick that junks makes you be and the more you nutritional stuff will start to taste way better than all that other crap. Alas ... I can feel a sermon coming on. I can get pretty motivated when it comes to abstaining from what I must. I still struggle myself. Little by little and it's ok to slip ... but that's more for the maintenance phase ...

Just start by cutting back the crap and expect to get the headaches and feel a little sick. Walking helps to quicken the detox. I also went through a phase of mental instability ... part and parcel of the process.

Good on you for wanting to make changes that counts. Watching what you eat is an excellent place to start.

srry Not time to edit ... I'm off to the beach. Sunshine is an awesome food and also helps keep the addiction and hunger at bay.

Wishing you all the best!!!

[richierich25]

Your on the right track! Just make the healthiest choices you can. More fruits and Veggies and less meat. I won't even begin to claim any one way ... there is not.

I started about two years ago now. I just kept it simple ... at leas in the beginning. It was more my will to want to get better that has seen me lose a ton of unhealthy weight rather than finding out some secret in a book. Having said that though I have found a lot of info that has helped. That's more for later though.


Work on avoiding the toxic crap to start with. It's hard enough to stop going through the drive throughs and all over convenience food troughs at the mall and on the streets. Once you nail that stop bring junk and processed foods home from the store. Give away and just throw out what's already in the shelves. It only gets better from there. Don't worry about changing diary, meat, poultry and or going vegan or paleo ... that's too much effort and will see many fail from the start. Been there done that. The time will come when your feeling stronger to experiment with all that and find out for yourself. Forget going by whatever findings. That kind of analytic process just leads people into reading what they want. Go by your own results ... what you feel to be on track or not.

Damn it ... I got to go dude. Srry ... I just wanted to relay a few tips that have helped shaped the new me. I was sick as hell on a variety of mind stabilizers and chronically overweight!!! The only study I have to work off is the one I have put together myself. The above tips are just universal ones I have no doubt that will help if your able to follow them. Fact is ... they are not that appealing to most people already sick. It really is about giving up addictions and food today is as hard to give up as cigarettes and or heroin.

Goto go ... You can do it. Instead of viewing toxins as OK in moderation - The best way to come off them is to view nutritional foods as OK in moderation. Before you know it, the less crap you consume the more you will feel just how sick that junks makes you be and the more you nutritional stuff will start to taste way better than all that other crap. Alas ... I can feel a sermon coming on. I can get pretty motivated when it comes to abstaining from what I must. I still struggle myself. Little by little and it's ok to slip ... but that's more for the maintenance phase ...

Just start by cutting back the crap and expect to get the headaches and feel a little sick. Walking helps to quicken the detox. I also went through a phase of mental instability ... part and parcel of the process.

Good on you for wanting to make changes that counts. Watching what you eat is an excellent place to start.

srry Not time to edit ... I'm off to the beach. Sunshine is an awesome food and also helps keep the addiction and hunger at bay.

Wishing you all the best!!!

Thank you advice, very insightful I hope other people get to read this and really absorb the message. I can tell you that out of Meditation/yoga/supplements/workouts/therapy, changing my diet has been the biggest help. To anybody reading this your diet will need research. Ever since my anxiety I developed acid reflux symptoms/gas issues with foods I consumed with no problem before so I felt very limited with what I eat. I even made my own little mutivitamin shake with fresh fruits and vegatables that I drink 2twice a day. I feel that diet is key and being dedicated to putting the right food in your body! Its easier said than done but your body will and mind will thank you.

[Teafrenzy]

Wow so despite all that you were going through no anxiety developed until much later. My sister in-law has crohn's and she recently had a flare up that almost took her life. Seeing what she has went through I could only imagine what you've been through. Im just so confused as to how I developed this! was it always in me and decided to show itself? I really have not stress in my life except not sleeping. I am getting married in 2 months and people thought thats why I have anxiety but it really isnt stressful. For me the whole process of setting a date, picking DJ, photography, etc has been so simple and painless. Just purchased a house that was flipped so no repairs were needed. Only thing I can think of is my sleep pattern. just tryna figure it out!

My Crohn's has actually been pretty much in check (knock on wood). My sister also has it and she has had way more flare ups. Since I got it, I have been able to pretty much eat what I want. When I got my Crohns it was also following a very stressful time in my life. I was in school and took a tough business program. One week I had 3 exams and 2 essays or something like that. I woke up at 6am and studied til midnight.

Anyways there are millions and millions of Americans and Canadians who don't eat healthy. So it would be very difficult to correlate the two factors.