Food to Help Lower Your Anxiety
By Sara Butler
Stress and anxiety are often a part of life. No doubt you’ve heard that there are many ways you can naturally lower your stress and anxiety, such as exercise, but there is some evidence that you can lower your stress and anxiety through what you eat, too. Here are a few things you may want to add to your diet to help combat anxiety and stress -- and a few things you may want to avoid!
Green Tea
Green tea is really good for you, and it might be better than coffee. When you drink coffee, the caffeine causes your brain to release norepinephrine and adrenaline, which helps you to feel more alert. The problem is that it can also make you irritable and tense by triggering your body’s fight or flight response. If you’re a big coffee drinker and you find that your anxiety and stress ramp up as a result, you may want to consider green tea.
One cup of green tea has 45 milligrams of caffeine, about a quarter of a cup of coffee. Plus, it contains compounds thought to help reduce anxiety and stress. So, drink up and see if it makes an impact on your jitters!
Lean Protein
Your brain needs to make serotonin to help regulate your mood, and it needs the amino acid tryptophan to do that. That means it would be better for the production of the neurotransmitters in your brain if you had lean protein included in your meals. Try eggs, turkey, fish, chicken, cheese, milk, tofu, nuts, and seeds to get it. It’s really easy and it could make a difference on your stress levels!
Go for Dark Chocolate
People often reach for sweet treats when they’re feeling stressed, but sugar will only make things worse for you in the long run. The added sugars in candy, cookies, and other junk food will boost your blood sugar in the short-term, but crash it in the long term. This will leave you feeling down, with higher levels of depression and anxiety.
If you need to nibble on something sweet, reach for dark chocolate that is low in sugar instead. The polyphenols in cocoa may help you to feel calmer and more in control. So, you don't have to give up chocolate, just go for the dark kind with less sugar!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.