Reduce Anxiety Without Drugs

Posted in Category(ies): All Natural, Food, Healthy Eating, Mental health

Do You Suffer From Anxiety?

Anxiety and fear are normal feelings for us. They are emotions meant to protect us from harm. If you weren't afraid of anything you would walk out in front of a train on a dare, or step into the cage with the tigers at the zoo. For many people, normal anxiety and fear has become an out of control, daily phenomenon that happens for no apparent reason.

We live high stress life. Even though the 'fight or flight' stress response is not required any more in most situations, such as a missed deadline, our bodies don't know the difference between that and being chased by a bear. Stress is stress, and we have evolved to react to stress in a certain way.

Anxiety actually covers four different kinds of feeling that you may experience. mental apprehension, physical tension, physical symptoms and dissociative anxiety. In medical terms, anxiety disorder breaks down into generalized anxiety disorder, phobic disorder, and panic disorder; and each one has a different set of symptoms that doctors use to diagnose them. [1]

Anxiety is becoming a huge problem. In the US alone, 40 million people have an anxiety condition that causes impairment of some kind. [2] This is becoming a problem that could affect the productivity of a huge number of people.

Rule Out Other Causes of Anxiety First

If you are suffering from anxiety that affects your daily life, the first thing you need to do is to go to the doctor and have a check up.  There are certain medical conditions, such as hyperthyroidism (over active thyroid)  and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) that can either cause feelings of anxiety complete with rapid heart rate, cold sweat, flushing, tremors or trembling and more. You need to make sure that there is no medical condition causing your anxiety issues, and only your doctor can do that with the proper tests.

Reduce Anxiety Naturally

Once you get an otherwise clean bill of health you can start focusing on natural ways to reduce your symptoms. First we need to address your diet. There are things you can remove from your diet, and things you can add, that may make a difference.

What to remove from your diet:

• Coffee and other stimulants: Stimulants like caffeine mimic the 'fight or flight' hormone adrenaline. Too much of any stimulant can precipitate nervousness, tremors, and other signs of acute or chronic anxiety.  Tea – especially green tea – seems to be the exception to this rule. Tea has theanine, as well as caffeine, and theanine has been shown to promote relaxation in a number of different ways [3] So go ahead and switch your coffee for a hot refreshing cup of green tea!
• Sugar: Low sugar can cause a crises that feels like anxiety. What happens is that when you eat sugar or refined carbohydrates like white bread, your pancreas is stimulated to produce insulin. Insulin is sent to push the sugar into the cells of your body where it can be used. Sugar is cleaned up quite efficiently by insulin, and if you haven't had enough protein and fiber, or if you have had too much sugar, then you end up with a sugar 'crash'. Your body tissues all require a certain amount of sugar, but your brain requires the most sugar. It it the affects of a sugar crash on your brain that cause many of the anxiety type symptoms associated with a low blood sugar. The problem with this scenario is that, when your sugar gets TOO low, you have an overwhelming urge to eat more sugar. it is a never ending cycle.
• Processed foods: Processed and fast foods contain many preservatives and other chemicals that can disrupt your own hormone balance, or mimic hormones, which can in turn create feelings of anxiety or panic.

What to add to your diet:

• Whole foods organic if possible): When you eat whole organic foods you are avoiding many of the chemicals that can cause anxiety symptoms. You are also giving your body nutrients that it needs to be healthy. Just to be clear, 'whole foods' refer to foods that are exactly as nature made them. Fruits vegetables, and meats. Whole wheat bread is not a whole food. An apple is.
• Complete protein with every meal: Protein, broken down into amino acids, will be used by every cell in our body. Amino acids also are used to give us adequate levels on neuro transmitters. (I know that sounds a little but 'medical') All you really need to know is that amino acids from protein help your cells communicate. Things like dopamine, serotonin and melatonin are affected and these compounds are what help you feel happy and relax. Eat eggs, or chicken and fish. If you are vegetarian, you can add soy, hemp, seeds and nuts and nut butters, beans and legumes. You should aim for 6 small meals and 15-20 grams of protein per meal. You can also supplement with branch chain amino acids (BCAA) Bodybuilders sometimes use BCAAs to make sure they are getting enough amino acids to feed their growing muscles.
• Vitamins to relieve anxiety: Research has shown that several vitamins are important during an anxiety attack in helping relieve anxiety.
  • B vitamins- found in turkey, tuna and liver as well as whole grains, lentils, beans, nutritional yeast, and tempeh
  • Vitamin C- our bodies use a lot of vitamin C during illness or stress. This vitamin can be found in citrus fruits, but an even better source is peppers, kiwi, broccoli, and berries. Many plant foods are a source of vitamin C. If you are eating 10 servings a day and make sure that the foods list above are in at least 2 of those servings you should be getting lots of C. In times of increased anxiety you can always supplement.
  • Vitamin E- an important antioxidant that also plays a role in stress reduction.
• Omega 3 Fatty Acids: Omega 3 fatty acids have been found to reduce anxiety and depression. Omega 3 fatty acids are used by every cell in the body, and many people are extremely deficient in them thanks to eating an american diet. Almost nine of the foods that most North Americans eat on a daily basis contain enough omega 3 fatty acids for proper body function. Try to get omega 3 fatty acids with every single meal you eat. Sources of omega 3 fatty acids include avocado, olives, flax seed, hemp seed, cold water fish like salmon, olive oil, fish oil.
• Green tea: As mentioned above, the caffeine in green tea is balanced by a compound called theanine which is known to have relaxation effects. The benefit of green tea is that you can be alert and calm at the same time.
• Detoxification: Many of the toxins, chemicals and heavy metals that we are exposed to on a daily basis are hormone disruptors that interfere with brain function, and can cause anxiety along with many other effects. Detoxification with a natural supplement such as zeolite [4] can remove many of these harmful materials and relieve some of the causes of anxiety.

Other natural ways to reduce anxiety include deep breathing. You will be surprised to know that the simple act of slowing down your breathing rate by taking long deep breathes that fill your lungs and then exhaling slowly will work to calm an anxiety attack. Meditation, gardening, regular exercise and a hot bath all help in relaxing the body and mind.

Often, reducing the amount of anxiety one experiences means a complete change of habits, but you can reduce your anxiety levels naturally.

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety_disorder 
2. http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-statistics-information.shtml
3. http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/theanine-health-benefits.html
4. http://www.theliquidzeolitebook.com

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Shelley Penney is a RN (retired) with a keen interest in health, peace and abundance.
Shelley has penned several e-books, currently runs several successful business ventures
from her home office, and has time to write, meditate, travel, and spend time with her
family. Visit Shelley at http://www.shelleypenney.com for interesting articles and
stimulating discussion.
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» Filed Under All Natural, Food, Healthy Eating, Mental health

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