Diet and Anxiety

In my last blog I discussed how anxiety can be a good or a bad thing, and suggested that there are natural ways to treat it.

Anxiety is not just in your genes or “in your head.” In fact, it may have more to do with what you eat, or don’t eat, than anything else.

For example, a low dietary intake of the amino acid tryptophan leads to low levels of the anti-anxiety brain chemical called serotonin. Low serotonin levels cause not only anxiety but also depression.

Allergies

Allergies to certain foods can also cause anxiety simply because they trigger a chain of reactions leading to the release of numerous chemicals (histamines, adrenaline, etc.) capable of over-stimulating the nervous system. Studies show that testing for and eliminating allergic foods brings about an improvement or elimination of most anxiety disorders.

Sugar

A high simple sugar intake (candy bars, soft drinks, chips, sweetened cereals, fruit drinks, baked goods, etc.) can cause anxiety by a number of different mechanisms.

The most obvious one is through the creation or aggravation of hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) reactions. The higher the sugar intake, the higher the insulin levels become and the more rapid the drop in blood sugars. Since the brain’s primary fuel is glucose, a sudden low glucose level, which has been referred to as “reactive hypoglycemia,” can cause anxiety, light-headedness, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, and dozens of other nervous system signs and symptoms.

Also, the body converts glucose into pyruvic acid, which is then broken down further to lactic acid. Clinical anxiety may be associated with an elevated blood level of lactic acid (lactate). In fact, if one injects pure lactic acid into the veins of a person predisposed to anxiety, the lactic acid will induce an anxiety attack 93% of the time. Similarly, glucose infusion can produce panic attacks in susceptible individuals.

Alcohol

Heavily advertised by mainstream media as part of having a good time and even as a way of preventing heart disease, alcohol consumption has become a socially acceptable way of poisoning the body.

Alcohol consumption can also cause anxiety simply because of its effects on liver metabolism, causing a greater buildup of lactic acid in the body.

Alcohol also burns up one’s reserves of B complex vitamins, which are required to metabolize sugar as well as rid the body of excessive amounts of lactic acid.

Its potential for addiction and other medical and social problems is well documented.

Caffeine

Caffeine or caffeine withdrawal has been shown to increase serum concentrations of cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline), and norepinephrine. Excesses of these can cause anxiety.

People with anxiety, especially those with panic disorder, are unusually sensitive to the anxiety-generating effects of caffeine. Caffeine sensitivity may vary from one person to another, with some individuals developing chronic anxiety states on as little as half a cup of coffee or tea daily.

Not only does high caffeine intake produce symptoms that mimic just about any of the anxiety disorders, but the caffeine withdrawal syndrome may also mimic anxiety. In other words, the heavy coffee drinker who tries to give up coffee may initially find that his anxiety worsens until he drinks another cup of coffee.

In my next blog I will discuss how deficiencies of particular nutrients can cause anxiety.