6 Best food for Anxiety Reduction

Looking for foods that help with anxiety? Research shows that some foods act as natural remedies for anxiety, while others can send you into overdrive. Try these 5  best food for anxiety reduction today.

If you live with chronic stress or anxiety, you might spend much of your daily life managing it with tools like therapy, mindfulness, exercise, and anti-anxiety medication.

But did you know that anxiety can be triggered by certain foods we put in our bodies?

This isn’t to say that these tools and approaches aren’t necessary for tackling anxiety — they are often healthy options for any person’s lifestyle. But if anxiety is still impacting your life, it might be worth it to a glance down at your plate.

Also, Read: How to beat the bloat?

Here are 5 Best foods for anxiety you should include in your diet:

Green Tea:

Green Tea is not only effective in losing weight but also is great for mood swings. It calms your mind. It has amino acids and anti-anxiety properties that help you to relax, sleep better and feel happy. Drinking two-three cups of green tea with drops of honey will prevent the unnecessary build-up of thoughts and tension.

Several studies have examined the association between chamomile and anxiety relief. They’ve found that those diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) experienced a significantly greater reduction in symptoms after consuming chamomile extract, compared to those who did not.⁣⁣

Food Tip: Chamomile contains high amounts of antioxidants proven to reduce inflammation, which might decrease the risk of anxiety.⁣⁣

Avocado is the best food for anxiety reduction:

Avocados are filled with plenty of vitamins and the most important amongst the lot is vitamin B6. This vitamin has neurotransmitter which helps in changing your anxious mood and calms your nervous system.

Avocados are rich in stress-relieving B vitamins and heart-healthy fat that may help to lessen anxiety. Vitamin E is a nutrient that is important for vision, reproduction, and maintaining healthy skin. It’s also been connected with cognition, helps widen blood vessels, and is needed for the formation of red blood cells. Because vitamin E is fat-soluble it’s only found in foods like nuts and avocados that have high-fat content.

Food Swap: Non-Dairy frozen Avocado Treat instead of Icecream

Next time you’re reaching for that pint of full-fat, calorie-laden ice-cream, whip up your own frozen avocado treat.

Food Tip: Just blend avocado with a ripe banana, vanilla extract, almond milk, and sweetener. Freeze for a few hours and then dig in, knowing you’re boosting those B vitamins as you go! Isn’t Avacado the best food for anxiety.

Turmeric:

One of the favorite Indian spices, which has its roots in Ayurveda is our very own Haldi or turmeric. Be it any kind of pain or allergy in the body, turmeric has a solution to all. But did you know due to a unique nutrient present in turmeric it is also linked with anxiety? Curcumin is present in Haldi which effectively reduces the oxidative stress and clams down your disturbed mood. It reduces your anxiety and prevents a panic attack.

Food Pro Tip: You can also try the Ashwagandha, an Ayurvedic herb said to help combat stress and fatigue.

Shop For Ashwagandha Tea

Craving Fried Chicken? Try Turkey

Ever heard of tryptophan? It’s the nutrient in turkey that puts you to sleep after Thanksgiving dinner. HAHA! Okay, it’s a little more than that. Tryptophan is an amino acid that the body needs to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin, which helps regulate sleep and mood. According to the University of Michigan, tryptophan may help reduce anxious feelings.

Food Swap: Lean Turkey over Kentucky!

Avoid the temptation of picking up fried chicken on your way home by prepping your meals in advance. This way you can reap the benefits of tryptophan found in turkey. Fried foods introduce unhealthy fats and counter the good from the tryptophan that may help put you at ease when anxiety is looming.

Food Tip: Plan your meal with Turkey diced into quinoa or brown rice and some added veggies will provide a wide range of healthy nutrients and support sound sleep. It looks like another one of the best food for anxiety reduction!

Yogurt:

Yogurt has a lot of healthy live bacteria, which has positive effects on brain health. Fermented foods help in reducing anxiety and depression. It calms down your stress level and induces a feeling of goodness. A link has been found between the consumption of fermented, probiotic foods, and a reduction in social anxiety. The best yogurts—Greek, plain versions in particular—that contain “live and active cultures” are guaranteed to have 100 million probiotic cultures per gram or about 25 billion probiotic cultures in a cup. Other probiotic foods: pickles, sauerkraut, kombucha, and miso.

Food Swap: Yogurt and Cereal instead of Milk and Cereal

Food Tip: Mix up your breakfast by swapping out milk for yogurt with your cereal.

Doing so may have a protective effect against social anxiety symptoms for those at a higher genetic risk. Symptoms of social anxiety include excessive fear of situations in which one may be judged, worry about embarrassment or humiliation, or concern about offending someone. If yogurt isn’t your thing, try incorporating sauerkraut or a pickle into your daily sandwich. Miso, a traditional Japanese seasoning, can be a substitute for parmesan in soups or noodle dishes!

Are you a seafood lover? Go for that Fatty Fish

Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, and herring, are high in omega-3. Omega-3 is a fatty acid that has a strong relationship with cognitive function as well as mental health. However, recent research has shown that if a person eats too much of another fatty acid, called omega-6, and not enough omega-3, they may increase their risk of developing mood disorders, such as anxiety.

Omega-3-rich foods that contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) provides two essential fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

EPA and DHA regulate neurotransmitters, reduce inflammation, and promote healthy brain function.

Food Swap: Salmon instead of Steak

Food Tip: A juicy steak might be hard to pass up, but a diet rich in the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon helps keep cortisol and adrenaline from spiking when you’re feeling tense. Experiment by trying out different spices and flavor combinations when cooking salmon. Start simple. Sprinkle the fish with salt, pepper and garlic, add a few sprigs of rosemary, and top with some thinly sliced lemon. Delish! another food recipe in your best food for anxiety.

 

Try these food swaps and see if modifying your diet helps in anxiety reduction.