{"id":146757,"date":"2021-08-26T21:32:16","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T21:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/archives\/146757"},"modified":"2021-08-26T21:32:16","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T21:32:16","slug":"best-foods-for-anxiety-and-depression-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/archives\/146757","title":{"rendered":"Best Foods for Anxiety and Depression"},"content":{"rendered":"(upbeat music) – Hey, munchies, welcome to the channel. If you're new or if you're not, I'm Alyssia, and I am stoked\nyou're here either way. Today, we are talking about mental health and if the food we eat\nimpacts our mental health. Spoiler, it does. Anxiety is on the rise in the U.S., and it doesn't have to be\nclassified as a mental condition for you to feel anxiety. It's a disorder characterized by persistent worry and nervousness. And there is a spectrum, so\nyou can feel different levels of anxiety at different times, and different circumstances\nmay need different approaches for treatment and healing. I am a huge fan of therapy and ensuring that we prioritize our mental\nhealth as much as physical. So for sure, consult a professional if you think you need one. I am not here to diagnose or\nprescribe any foods or diet for anxiety treatment, but rather to help bring\nawareness to some of the foods that may be contributing to anxiety from what research is showing us, as well as which foods may help.

If you are taking medication, or if you think you need medication, talk to your doctor or a\nmental health professional before making any changes. Okay, there is your disclaimer. Now let's get into the\nscience just a little bit. So in many cases, anxiety,\nas well as depression, are conditions associated\nwith poor brain health. This can be due to neurotransmitters not functioning properly, overstimulation of the\nlimbic system in the brain, chronic inflammation, or oxidative stress, which can affect brain function. New research has also shown\nthat our gut health is linked to brain health through\nthe gut-brain axis. A lot of people don't\nrealize that the majority of serotonin receptors\nare actually in the gut, and about 1\/2 of the body's\ndopamine is synthesized in the gut, which is why\nmany people are now referring to the gut as the second brain. So it's becoming clear through science now that what we eat not only affects our gut, but also our brains. In terms of treatment and lowering the severity of the symptoms, we can address some of\nthe possible causes.

So we can eat foods\nthat combat inflammation and oxidative stress. We can provide nutrients\nthat may be lacking for neurotransmitter production. We can keep blood sugar balanced,\nand we can heal the gut. We can also avoid foods that\ncontribute to those factors. So there are studies now\nthat have shown that a change in diet can affect depression, anxiety, and mood disorder symptoms. So what does this look like? I am going to show you today, and I have a free PDF with these lists. So you don't need to take any notes, just watch and pay attention, and you can download your\nfree PDF in the description. Let's start with foods that\nyou may want to limit or avoid. So if any of these are\nin your regular diet, it may be worth taking a look at. First, alcohol. Research links alcohol\nwith mental health problems and with triggering or worsening\ndepression and anxiety. It is a depressant, after all. So it affects the nervous\nsystem.

It interferes with sleep. Alcohol promotes inflammation, which we discussed earlier,\nand blood sugar irregularity. It can also bring down your mood because it reduces serotonin. What is recommended as\nmoderation is one to two drinks per week, but many brain\nhealth experts, like Dr. Amen, actually say alcohol does\nnot do anything good for us, so we should really avoid\nit as much as possible. Caffeine. Moderate intake of caffeine\ncan benefit depression and reduce anxiety or boost mood because it does have a stimulant effect. That's one cup of coffee\nthat's been associated with the prevention of cognitive decline, but some research suggests that caffeine can increase\nfeelings of anxiety, stress, and depression\nif consumed in excess.

This leads to more jittery\nfeelings, worse sleep, and it can impact hormones and\nneurotransmitter functioning, like we discussed earlier, as one of the contributors\nto poor brain health. Research has shown that the\neffects of coffee really vary depending on the person\nand their tolerance. Refined sugar and added sugar. Sugar impacts mood, period, Blood sugar levels rising and crashing can make us irritable.

And we know that sugar\npromotes inflammation, which also affects our\nability to manage stress. A study showed that people\nwith high sugar intake, it was over 65 grams in this study, were 23% more likely to\ndevelop depression or anxiety over five years than those\nwho logged under 40 grams. Refined grains, white breads and processed or enriched foods offer\nlittle to no actual nutrients and really affect our\nblood sugar negatively. They also rob you of B\nvitamins during digestion, which will affect your\nability to absorb nutrients, and that can lead to\ndeficiencies ultimately caused by chronic stress. Keep in mind that we\ndo want complex carbs, like whole grains. When I say refined grains,\nI'm talking white breads, crackers, short grain rice, the kind where the part of\nthe grain has been removed or overly processed.

Complex carbs are metabolized more slowly, which helps to maintain\neven blood sugar levels and stabilize moods. Avoiding skipping meals can also help to maintain even blood sugar. Processed foods and fast\nfoods also provide little to no nutrients with a lot of calories, not to mention trans fats, which are correlated with\ndepression, anxiety, aggression, and other mental illnesses. Refined oils are next. They are really high in omega-6s, so they're highly inflammatory, which can mess with your\nmood and brain function. Processed deli meats\nlike hot dogs, bologna, deli turkey or chicken, they often have a lot of\nfillers and preservatives, which have been associated with migraines, mood swings, and inflammation. Artificial sweeteners and food additives, and there are a lot of them, have been associated with\nheadaches, mood disorders, dizziness, and migraines. People can often have food sensitivities to artificial stuff without\nknowing it, and it makes sense. I mean, our bodies don't know how to process something artificial, so it could be subtly rejecting\nit without you knowing.

Okay, so take note if any\nof these are in your diet, and keep in mind, this is if\nthey are regularly included. This is not me saying never have alcohol or sugar or processed foods, although some people may say\nthat and may choose to do that. But I'm suggesting that\nif you eat these regularly and you're struggling with anxiety, this could be a good place to start. We can also add certain\nthings into our diet to help, and I think focusing on more of the good with any kind of dietary\nchange is going to resonate with people more than less of the bad. It's mentally easier to grasp more good. So first, let's get in more fatty fish. Wow, if you take anything from this video, and what I really learned and I'm trying to incorporate\nmyself is eat more fatty fish. Omega-3s are where it's at. Omega-3s are really the\nbuilding blocks of the brain. The brain is actually composed of 60% fat, so it needs fat for fuel. Omega-3s reduce inflammation. Surprisingly, or it was surprising to me, one of the most common\nnutritional deficiencies seen in people with mental\ndisorders is omega-3s.

The best omega-3s and amino\nacids are in wild-caught salmon, which also contains\nvitamin D, vitamin B6, B12, and selenium, all of which\ncontribute to brain health. And it's one of the best-studied foods in terms of depression and anxiety. Sardines, tuna, and mackerel\nare other good sources. Research suggests that\nadequate omega-3 intake, whether it's from fish or a supplement, can reduce the risk of\nanxiety, depression, and other mood disorders and improve symptoms of\nanxiety and depression. Walnuts also offer plant-based omega-3s, which aren't as great, but\nstill worth having, for sure. This was so cool, actually.

Walnuts specifically\nwere studied and shown to have a positive impact on\nmood, anxiety, and depression. People that ate 1\/4 cup\nof walnuts per day showed to have 26% lower depression scores, and it led to greater optimism, energy, hope, and concentration. 26%! Other nuts and seeds, like\npumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and flax, are also good\nsources, but walnuts are tops. Meat, poultry, eggs, dairy,\nand soy are also good sources of amino acids to get\nyour complete proteins.

This doesn't mean you need to\neat meat all day, every day, but it does point to some of the benefits of having some animal\nprotein in your diet, Turkey and chicken were the\nones that really stood out because apparently\ntryptophan and tyrosine, which are amino acids that both\nturkey and chicken contain, have been studied and\nassociated with reduced anxiety. Probiotic and fermented foods are another. Probiotics are associated\nwith positive mental health, specifically improving mood,\nanxiety, and depression, and they're found in yogurt, as well as fermented\nfoods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, and kefir. Fermented foods specifically\nhave been studied showing to help heal the gut. Last year, I went on\na gut healing mission, and I ate a lot of fermented\nfoods, but they've also shown to be neuroprotective and mood-balancing. The gut-brain connection\nis real, I'm telling you. Next, veggies. We could not escape from talking about the wonder of veggies. Dark leafy greens are some of the most nutrient-dense\nfoods you can take in, and foods like shiitake\nmushrooms are prebiotics that promote healthy gut bacteria.

Fruits are also great, all berries. Blueberries have been\nconsidered a depression food, I mean an anti-depression food, I guess, and have been shown to\nbe helpful with symptoms. Strawberries have a lot of vitamin C, and avocado has a lot\nof monounsaturated fats. Other notable items are\ngreen tea, chamomile extract, and dark chocolate. They all have specific\nnutrients and antioxidants that have been associated\nwith anxiety reduction. As you've seen, really eating a consistent\nhealthy diet is key. I wouldn't get too caught\nup in this many grams of this berry versus that.

It's not one for one, this heals that. It's an overall balance. The truth is this kind of\nwhole foods approach is also what is going to keep our hearts healthy and our weight under control. I mean, nothing that I shared\nhere is blowing your mind in terms of being a healthy food. It's very simple. More whole foods, lots of\nplants, and less processed foods. Those are the three dietary\ntenets that I would give you to overall health and well-being,\nboth mental and physical. So the point is, if you're struggling with\nanxiety or mental health and think that your diet\ncould be contributing, making some dietary\nchanges for mental health will also improve your physical health, and this is really what\na holistic approach is, where we look at the mind\nand body as one connected, and that the foods we take in and the choices we make affect\nour bodies and our minds and our emotional selves too.

Again, don't become dogmatic about it, or it won't be sustainable. So what can you take from this? Make an effort to eat a\nlittle less of those foods that may contribute negatively and an effort to eat a little\nmore of the foods that help. Baby steps will get you there. In an email that I sent out awhile ago, I told a story of a health study. I shared it on Instagram too, I think, but it feels relevant here, so I'm gonna spend 30 seconds sharing it. This study has been reproduced many times all over the world. Essentially, they take\ntwo groups of people, and they give one group\nall of the health tools that they could need for free. So they give 'em free gym\nshoes and free gym memberships and access to information or whatever, and they tell them, "Go,\ngo, and get healthy." Then the other group,\nthey give them nothing, nothing for free, but they tell them, "Climb one set of stairs today, and tomorrow, just add on one step, okay? And every day, just add on one more step." that's it.

That's all they tell 'em. Then they come back years later, so two years later, five years later, and which group do you think has established healthier\nhabits sustainably? The second group that\ntook one step per day and got nothing for free. So you don't need free stuff. You don't need any more information. You know everything you need to know. More whole foods, more plants,\nless processed. That's it. All you really need to do is\nembrace the idea of baby steps rather than trying to\nchange it all at once. That is the magic formula.

I swear. Okay, I know this video didn't go exactly where any of us thought it would, but I hope you found it helpful. If you do want the PDF with\nthese lists for your reference, I've also linked to some of the studies that I referenced in there too. You can download it in the description. Subscribe for more content\nlike this. Hit the bell. I will link similar\ncontent in the description if you want more. If you wanna be on my email list as well for more self-help, kinda\ninspirational emails, I will link the link to sign up in the description box below as well. I will be back next week\nwith a brand new episode, and remember, it's all a\nmatter of mind over munch.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(upbeat music) – Hey, munchies, welcome to the channel. If you're new or if you're not, I'm Alyssia, and I am stoked you're here either way. Today, we are talking about mental health and if the food we eat impacts our mental health. Spoiler, it does. Anxiety is on the rise in the U.S., and … Continue reading Best Foods for Anxiety and Depression<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":146760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[55193,696,55186,55196,16120,55191,953,37548,54416,55187,55189,55188,55192,55197,41477,55199,55194,55190,55198,55195],"class_list":["post-146757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anxiety","tag-anti-anxiety-foods","tag-anxiety","tag-anxiety-foods","tag-anxiety-reducing-foods","tag-anxiety-relief","tag-best-foods-for-anxiety","tag-depression","tag-depression-and-anxiety","tag-depression-foods","tag-foods-for-anxiety","tag-foods-for-anxiety-and-depression","tag-foods-for-depression","tag-foods-good-for-anxiety","tag-foods-that-cause-anxiety","tag-foods-that-help-anxiety","tag-foods-that-help-depression","tag-foods-that-reduce-anxiety","tag-foods-that-reduce-anxiety-and-depression","tag-foods-to-avoid-with-anxiety","tag-what-foods-help-with-anxiety"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/146757_maxresdefault.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}