So you typically hit your afternoon slump around 2:30-3:30 each day. It’s hard to keep your eyes open without a pick-me-up. You usually reach for a Diet Coke and maybe a quick snack to give you the burst of energy you need to make it through until you can crash for good. But have you ever evaluated how you truly feel the rest of the day? Do you struggle with anxiety or depression and want to heal? If so, keep reading for 4 foods to avoid with anxiety.
How Is Food Related to Your Anxiety?
What’s happening in your gut and your mind are intricately connected. Most of your neurotransmitters (what your body uses to communicate) are produced in your gut by bacteria. The balance of gut bacteria is crucial for stabilizing your mood. This balance of bacteria is why more people with anxiety and depression also have gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis). What you eat can create a healthy balance of bacteria, or can create dysbiosis, an imbalance of bacteria.
What Is Serotonin?
Serotonin is one of those neurotransmitters produced in the gut. Serotonin’s job is to help regulate mood, sleep, stress response, and digestion. It is estimated that about 95% of serotonin is produced by the bacteria in your gut. When your gut bacteria is in balance, plenty of serotonin is produced. But when the gut bacteria is imbalanced, serotonin can be low, making mood harder to regulate and increasing anxiety. There are several foods to avoid with anxiety because they effect serotonin levels.
What Is Cortisol?
Cortisol is known as the body’s stress hormone. In times of stress, the adrenal glands naturally release cortisol to help manage stress. Small spurts of elevated cortisol are natural, but long term elevated cortisol can have damaging effects on your body. All stress, including stress from the foods eaten, can elevate cortisol.
4 Foods to Avoid with Anxiety
Foods to Avoid with Anxiety: Soda and Diet Soda
I know the caffeine and the sugar do give you a boost and seem to help, but the sugar and caffeine only give you a temporary fix. After the elevated blood sugar and cortisol are spiked, a crash comes and it is even harder to get going, creating more anxiety.
Most people think diet sodas are healthier because they are sugar free. But this study found that having aspartame, the artificial sweetener found in most “diet” products, changes the gene expression of the area of your brain that regulates anxiety and fear, making your brain work harder to keep anxiety at bay. And what’s crazy is that it not only effects the person having the aspartame, but it gets carried into the next two generations 🤯 This can help explain why anxiety runs in families.
Foods to Avoid with Anxiety: Sugary Snacks
When you’re tired in the middle of the day, your brain needs food, and it needs it quickly. Your brain will signal cravings for something that will get to it quickly…carbohydrates. Sugary, simple carbohydrates will get to your brain the fastest but provide the least amount of lasting energy.
Sugary snacks are also foods to be avoided with anxiety because they cause an imbalance in gut bacteria.
Foods to Avoid with Anxiety: Processed Foods
Processed foods are foods to be avoided with anxiety for lots of reasons unfortunately. Yes, processed foods are easy and convenient, but your body is not designed to digest, absorb and be nourished by them. They don’t have the nutrients needed to run processes in your body properly, they cause gut bacteria imbalances, and they create inflammation. The inflammation will in turn increase stress and cortisol. The imbalance in gut bacteria makes it hard for your body to create enough serotonin.
I’m not saying processed foods have to be completely avoided 100% of the time. Every once in a while, your body can handle them, but every day, multiple times a day is too much.
Foods to Avoid with Anxiety: Caffeine
I took a trip once with a friend of mine that had a panic attack immediately following having a coffee. She was perfectly relaxed but the caffeine made her heart start racing creating anxiety and soon panic set in. Caffeine is a known stimulant that creates elevated cortisol levels. I always recommend adding caffeinated drinks to the foods to avoid with anxiety list if you want to heal from anxiety.
Let’s Connect!!
I hope this list gives you a little insight into ways you can change to heal from anxiety! What surprised you? Is there anything you feel like you really need to avoid? I’d love to hear your comments! Comment below with your response.
