ANXIETY can make you feel as if you’re walking a tightrope every day.
Symptoms such as hot flushes and chronic worrying are red alerts that your body and brain are stuck in fight or flight mode.But how did you get there? We often blame our jobs or family life, but what’s on our plate can also turn up the tension.
To reclaim that inner calm, cut your intake of these anxiety-boosting foods.
CAFFEINE
If you live from one hit to the next, those long blacks, cups of tea or slugs of energy drink could be taking their toll on your temperament. “Side effects of caffeine intake can include shakiness, heart palpitations, difficulty sleeping and anxiety,” Jared Brown, a poisons specialist from the NSW Poisons Information Centre, says. If you tend towards caffeine sensitivity (which you may have without knowing it), even one cup of coffee or tea can put you on edge.
Try this instead:
- Drink more water, and decaffeinated tea and coffee, and ask the barista for only a single shot in your long black.
- Avoid energy drinks. Some have the equivalent of five cups of coffee in one can.
- Wean yourself off caffeine over time to avoid symptoms such as headaches, and switch to drinks such as dandelion coffee and herbal tea.
SALT
“High-salt diets increase blood pressure, forcing your heart to work harder,” Dr Brian Morton, chair of the Council of General Practice for the Australian Medical Association, says. “Your body then releases the stress hormone adrenalin.” And hello, edginess and tension.
Try this instead:
- Use herbs and spices to add flavour to food.
- With pre-packaged foods, choose low-salt (less than 120mg per 100g) options.
- Don’t add salt to dishes.
FAST FOOD
“Our research clearly shows that junk and processed foods that are high in fats and sugars, contribute to mental health problems,” associate professor Felice Jacka of the Deakin University School of Medicine, says. “The healthier a person’s diet because it’s rich in foods such as fresh fruit and veg, wholegrains and lean forms of protein, the less likely it is that they’ll become anxious.”
Try this instead:
- Brown-bag your lunch to include fresh fruit, veg and wholegrains.
- Try to home-cook some meals from scratch.
- Snack on vegetable sticks or small handfuls of raw nuts.
HOT CHIPS
Commercial fries are often cooked in unhealthy, hydrogenated trans fats. A higher intake of trans fats almost doubles the risk of suffering depression and anxiety, according to a six-year Spanish study involving 12,000 students.
Try this instead:
- Make home-baked potato wedges in the oven with a dash of olive oil.
SUGAR
“Sugar contains fructose, which produces a spike in our levels of the stress hormone cortisol,” David Gillespie, author of Sweet Poison (Penguin), says. End result? You may feel permanently hyped up. Research from Princeton University suggests that sugar is addictive: rats fed a sugary diet became anxious when sugar was removed, almost as if they were withdrawing from a drug. For sugarholics, this could mean episodes of anxiety during the day every time sugar intake becomes low.
Try this instead:
- Watch for sneaky sugar sources such as glucose, dextrose and fructose in low-fat and processed foods.
- Gradually reduce the amount of sugar you add to cereal or tea, so the palate adjusts until you don’t need any.
ALCOHOL
Kicking back with some wine may promise to push your “relax” button, but it won’t. “Like caffeine, alcohol causes your body to release adrenalin which can then lead to symptoms like faster heart rate,” Dr Morton says. This anxiety effect is increased by your body’s sense that it’s under duress due to an alcohol-induced drop in blood sugars and added dehydration.
Try this instead:
- Drink spritzers, mixing half wine with half soda water.
- Avoid spirits, which pack a high alcohol punch.
- Always finish one drink before you top your glass up.
- Rather than downing a glass of red for relaxation, engage in daily yoga or meditation.
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