Anxiety & what you eat
Anxiety disorders impact 1 out of every 6 adults in NZ, and many more are undiagnosed. What is going on to make this condition so common? My research has indicated some strong links to nutrition. Here is a snippet of what I found.
*Please use this material to support rather than replace any medical or psychological treatment you are receiving and consult your doctor before coming off medications.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety and fear responses are common human reactions to feelings of threat. For someone suffering from an anxiety disorder this response is evoked by an irrational fear that can become persistent and extremely debilitating. Anxiety usually begins following a person’s exposure to an uncontrollable or unpredictable event in their lives, leading to a vicious cycle of worry. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorder in NZ, impacting an estimated 6.1 % of the population and most prevalent in females aged 25-54 years (Ministry of Health, 2014). Manifestations of this condition include feelings of fear, nervousness, restlessness, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, raised blood pressure, increased sweating and chest pain. Anxiety disorders run in families, can be related to lifestyle factors and have been associated with poor gut health and various nutritional deficiencies (Craft, Gordon, & Huether, 2016).
The gut microbiome
The gut microbiome is the ecosystem of organisms including bacteria, yeasts, fungi and parasites that reside within our digestive system. There can be an imbalance or overgrowth of certain non-beneficial organisms with reduced amounts of the beneficial kinds when we consume excessive amounts of sugar, processed foods, alcohol and antibiotics. This dysbiosis can impact our brain function as there is a bidirectional communication system between the gut and brain (gut-brain axis) which can lead to anxiety. It is important that we reduce this dysbiosis by reducing harmful foods, increasing our probiotic foods that introduce good bacterial colonies and adding prebiotic foods to feed the beneficial organisms (Lyte, Chapel, & Lyte, 2016; Kato-Kataoka, Nishida, & Takada, 2016).
Including PROBIOTIC fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha and coconut yoghurt
Including PREBIOTIC foods like unripened banana or flaxseed (Gropper & Smith, 2013).
Caffeine
Caffeine in coffee, black and green tea is a stimulant. Having a hit of caffeine increases activity of our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) activity. This branch of our autonomic nervous system is the “fight or flight” pathway. SNS activity results in a release of adrenalin by the adrenal glands, mobilising fuel sources and pumping blood into our skeletal muscle to enable us to escape threat. With anxiety, there’s already too much SNS activity and we actually want to boost the opposing parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) to balance this out.
Reduce caffeine intake - swap out your morning coffee for a dandelion '“coffee'“.
Choose herbal teas that are caffeine free like rooibos tea
Vitamin d
Feeling happier and less stressed over the summer months is actually rooted in science. The body produces vitamin D on exposure of the skin to UVB rays and it is common to develop seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and anxiety when deprived of sunshine over the winter months. Vitamin D's role in preventing anxiety is linked to various mechanisms of its actions. Firstly, areas of the brain that play a part in anxiety contain receptors for vitamin D and have the ability to activate vitamin D (Fedotova, Pivina, & Sushko, 2017). Secondly, vitamin D has anti-inflammatory properties which fight the actions of inflammatory cytokines in the brain, affecting levels of serotonin and dopamine, important for anxiety. Vitamin D can also bind to vitamin D receptors in the brain and influence the expression of neurotrophins which support neuronal cell growth AND there are vitamin D response elements on the genes that encode serotonin (Wu, Ren, & Cheng, 2016; Huang, Arnold, & Qui, 2014).
15 minutes of mid-afternoon SUN exposure on our face, neck, arms and legs, 3 times a week provides greater than the recommended amount of vitamin D (Holick, 2011).
MUSHROOMS including shitake and button contain a vitamin D precursor which when exposed to the sunshine becomes active vitamin D. Placing 85g (3/4 cup) store-bought mushrooms in direct sunlight for 15 minutes produces between 200-800 IU vitamin D (200-600 IU is what is recommended for adults) (Nutrient Reference Values, 2014; Berkeley Wellness, 2016).
Fatty fish and organic pasture raised dairy and eggs contain vitamin D.
Organic chicken or beef livers or cod liver oil are super high in vitamin D (Gropper & Smith, 2013).
Omega-3 fatty acids
An imbalance exists between the intake of different polyunsaturated fatty acids in a typical western diet. This is due to greater consumption of processed ingredients and vegetable oils containing inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids and inadequate intake of anti-inflammatory omega-3. Human emotions and behaviour are affected by the balance of these fatty acids as they are important constituents of neuronal cell membranes. Omega-3 fatty acids increase membrane fluidity which in turn improves brain function. In addition, the anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3’s prevent activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines that interfere with serotonin production in the brain, triggering anxiety (Daley, Patterson, & Sibbritt, 2014; Vesco, Lehmann , & Gracious , 2013).
Reduce the intake of processed, packaged foods that contain omega-6 fatty acids, harmful trans-fatty acids and sugar
FLAXSEED in the form of freshly ground seeds added on top of porridge, smoothies, salads and curries (store in the fridge and grind fresh to use) or a cold pressed flaxseed oil to replace olive oil in dressings or added to smoothies (do not heat!)
CHIA SEED added whole to porridge or soaked in nut milk (see recipes section). These lovely little seeds are not only omega-3 rich but also high in fibre and protein.
HEMPSEED in the form of hemp-hearts added to salads or cold pressed hempseed oil used as a dressing or in salads (do not heat!).
The best source of omega-3 fatty acids that provides the body directly with DHA and EPA are from animal sources - plant sources need to be converted and some of us don’t produce enough enzymes needed for the conversion. Organic pasture raised egg yolks and fatty fish, including salmon and mackerel are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids (Gropper & Smith, 2013).
B-vitamins
B vitamins , specifically folate and vitamin B12 are important for proper function of the methylation pathway. This pathway is essential for the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine linked to anxiety (Hosseinzadeh, Vafa, & Esmaillzadeh, 2015; Bjelland, Tell, & Vollset, 2003). Methylation is also needed to activate a gene for glucocorticoid receptor, which reduces HPA axis activity, alleviating anxiety (Wang, Feng, & Ji, 2017).
GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES like spinach, silverbeet and chard, LEGUMES and MUSHROOMS are high in folate
If you're a vegetarian or vegan I would recommend taking a Vitamin B12 supplement, look at getting the activated form of this vitamin METHYLCOBALAMIN. For all the meat eaters you should be getting adequate amounts from your diet (Gropper & Smith, 2013).
Magnesium
Magnesium is an essential mineral for energy production, muscle contraction and an important constituent of our bones. This mineral also plays a role in alleviating our stress and anxiety levels by reducing activity within the HPA axis, an area of the brain whereby hyperactivity is associated with anxiety (Poleszak, Wlaź, & Wróbel, 2008; Sartori, Whittle, & Hetzenauer, 2012). It can be a challenge to meet our requirements for magnesium from our diet and a lot of people are deficient in this mineral.
Magnesium is found in GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES, nuts, beans and brown rice. Even Dark chocolate - go for an 85-90 % cocoa chocolate, check the sugar content and opt for one sweetened with stevia when you can.
You may like to look at topping up your levels with a supplement. Magnesium citrates or magnesium bisglycinate are easily absorbable forms of this mineral that are gentle on the gut. Some other forms of magnesium supplements work as laxatives, so be mindful of the form its in.
Take a hot bath with some EPSOM SALTS. The magnesium in these salts will absorb through your skin and give you a boost..a 30 minute soak is suggested.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that reverses the damage caused by lipid peroxidation in the brain, linked to anxiety. The adrenal glands also use up a lot of our vitamin C stores when we are under stress, leaving our immune system depleted. When we are stressed or anxious, it’s important to boost our vitamin C intake (Koizumi, Kondo, & Isaka, 2016; De Oliveira, De Souza, 2015).
Vitamin C is widely available in fruit and vegetables. Increase your intake of citrus fruit, strawberries and kiwifruit. Blackcurrant berries are really high in vitamin C and so are broccoli and capsicum. Important thing to note: Vitamin C is heat sensitive, so eat these fruit and veges raw. Or you could take the superfood path, adding a little acerola, amla or camu camu powder to your smoothies.
Overall shifting our diet away from processed, packaged foods onto fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts as well as spending time in the sunshine and incorporating lifestyle adjustments like better sleep habits, meditation and yoga (discussed in a separate post) are important considerations that can hugely benefit someone with anxiety.