Anxiety is a pretty formidable foe. To have success in managing anxiety you often have to do different things, think different thoughts, take medication, and even change your diet. I have had some pretty intense episodes of anxiety including having had a full blown panic attack. If a doctor has prescribed medication for you then you should adhere to the doctor’s advice.
There are however things you can change in your diet that may have a major impact on your anxiety. Here are things that you can eat or drink to reduce your anxiety. I can personally attest to the benefit of these as it is very rare for me to have anxiety.
- Magnesium supplements. I would suggest a magnesium complex supplement (several different magnesium compounds) vs a single type of magnesium compound as our bodies differ and one compound may work better for you than another. Take between 100% and 300% of the USRDA. Mega doses of vitamins and minerals can put a major strain on your body. I would suggest that you start of at 100% and take that for 3 days and see how that helps or hinders your anxiety. Next 200% for 3 days. Same exercise: help or hinder your anxiety. Lastly 300% for 3 days, same drill of help/hinder. Warning: at higher doses it may make your stools soft. For me personally 300% was too much as I was encountering that side effect. I dropped down to 200% magnesium USRDA and no side effects with positive impact on my anxiety. For a study please read: https://bebrainfit.com/magnesium-anxiety-stress/
- Water. An adult human’s weight is between 65 and 75% water. Keeping hydrated is very important to health, especially brain health. The recommended 8 cups of water is not an adequate amount of water for most people. A better guideline is based upon your body weight. Take your weight in pounds and divide in half. That resulting number is the minimum number of fluid ounces of plain water you should be drinking. Assuming you weigh 200 pounds that would equate to 100 fluid ounces of water, which is significantly more than the recommended 64 ounces. If you exercise vigorously, live in an arid environment, take medications that are diuretic or drink caffeinated beverages then you should drink more water. I wouldn’t recommend going beyond your body weight. In the example above of a 200 pound man they shouldn’t exceed 200 fluid ounces of water. Warning: drinking too much water too quickly can get your electrolytes out of balance and could even be lethal. I wouldn’t recommend that you drink more than 20 ounces of water in a single hour.
- Omega 3 fatty acids. The brain is predominantly made up of water and fat. Omega 3 fatty acids are the building blocks for the body to make essential fat that is in the brain. I take 2 capsules daily: fish oil; and flaxseed oil. They contain different fatty acids and I’d prefer to cover as many bases as possible. Note: at this comparatively low dose you should not get the “fish oil burps”, a condition that I only encountered when taking 4 or more fish oil capsules daily. If you do encounter that side effect then fall back on taking 2 flaxseed oil capsules daily.
- Eat a lower carbohydrate diet to avoid blood sugar spikes. The brain is a complex piece of machinery. If you feed it a diet of simple carbohydrates your blood sugar will spike and dip. This inconsistency makes it more difficult for the brain to be running smoothly. Anxiety is like being on a “mental gerbil wheel”. Be kind to your brain and eat complex carbohydrates vs simple carbohydrates. Try to eat food in its natural state vs. something that has been processed. Eat ingredients, not recipes. Try to limit your sugars (including fructose). Eat your fruit but eat more vegetables than fruit. An apple would be better than apple juice. Apple juice would be better than a piece of apple pie. A piece of homemade apple pie would be better than a Hostess fruit pie.
- Vitamin B complex supplement. There are several different members of the B family of vitamins. Many of them do effect mental health and specifically anxiety. For more information I’d suggest reading: http://www.calmclinic.com/blog/calm-clinic-review-b-vitamins
- Green tea. Green tea contains an amino acid that has been shown to calm a rising heart rate. Let the tea help calm you down. See the following for some more information. https://bodyecology.com/articles/can-green-tea-reduce-anxiety-stress.php
- Chamomile tea. Chamomile tea has a calming effect on the body as well. Many people use it as a means to unwind at the end of the day. For more information on chamomile tea please see: https://www.realnatural.org/chamomile-relaxes-fights-anxiety-and-depression/
Good luck in your fight in managing your anxiety. Don’t fall into the mental trap that you will be able to rid yourself of all anxiety. That is unrealistic. Anxiety, at small levels, is part of the human experience. Work towards minimizing your anxiety but don’t expect elimination.
Note: I don’t claim to be an expert on any of these things. I’m sharing what has helped for me. I’m suggesting that you try these things as they may have a positive effect on you as well. The links are there for your information only. I was in no way compensated to include those links.
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