Can I cure anxiety through diet?

[Create10]

And if so, which diet?

I am absolutely fed up of the constant anxiety, and really want to tackle it next year. I have been aware of ultra processed foods for a while, and try and generally lower the amount I have but am not strict at all.

I have a generally healthy diet (usually eat a few different vegetables a day, drink plenty of water, most of my evening meals home cooked, can count on one hand how many takeaways I've had delivered this year), but also love sandwiches made from cheap white bread, the odd bag of crisps, Haribo or bar of chocolate, and I'll eat sausages, ham, supermarket sauces, cafe scones etc.

I have read about diet 'curing' anxiety, and it always tends to be from eating a really unprocessed diet. I've tried to be strict before but it always seems to cause worse anxiety and unbearably bad PMS, which is the opposite of what all online advice is. I'm not sure if this is normal to begin with and I have to persevere?

Has anyone got anyone got any success stories? I cannot face another year of being controlled by anxiety.

look after your gut. Also exercise more intensely.

During the period of my life when my anxiety was most acute, I ate a pretty much perfect "anxiety free" diet. Minimal processed food, no sugar or junk, minimal meat or wheat, lots of veg... And was miserably anxious.

Now I eat like a normal person, the occasional cake or biscuit, bread and meat, sausages etc. I take anti anxiety medication and feel absolutely fine.

Honestly, the best diet to prevent anxiety is one that includes medication.

I spent a long time working out the foods and supplements that help me manage my anxiety. Luckily, I really enjoy all of them - I'm not into lots of carbs and dairy, as a rule. This is me, most days:

Morning - lunchtime

Chia and flaxseed porridge
Bento bowl of fresh kimchi and seafood, and/or egg foo yung with lots of vegetables
Whatever fruit is around
Nuts - usually almonds
Tinned mackeral
Black Cohosh, red clover and SJW supplements
Organic white tea

Afternoon - evening

Lapsang Souchong
Absolute crap because I use up all my wholesomeness in the morning
Glass of red wine

I'm a work in progress

Do remember that dancing around in the kitchen to your favourite music for 20 mins is exercise! Reducing caffeine and sugar can be really helpful (try camomile tea) and look for foods rich in tryptophans (bananas and turkey are two, I think).

Avoid sugar and anything inflammatory. Aim for real foods and no booze.

Also, some supplements are worth their weight in gold. L-Theanine and inositol are miracle workers for anxiety.

I will get some, thanks!

Thank you very much. I haven't been tested for anything.

Thanks again.

I've tried keto (for weight loss) and didn't notice much change in anxiety.

I absolutely would consider medication but when I went to the GP, albeit a couple of years ago now, she seemed completely disinterested and told me to refer myself to Talking Therapies. It took me ages to get to the GP, and then two attempts at referring myself till I felt able to go, and I would have been overjoyed to be offered medication. That was when I was 100 times, if not more, worse than I am now so if I wasn't offered anything then I've just assumed it would be another 'go back to therapy'.

I tried inositol for a long while and did start feeling better, but it was over a period of months and thought perhaps it was just time healing.

High dose omega3 fatty acids plus vitamin B
You have to chose a proper high dose of the omega3 it’s all about DHA and EPA content.
I listened to a lecture about a study where prisoners were given omega 3 supplements and it was noted that behaviour improved massively probably because they weren’t so stressed. Sadly the powers that be opted not to supplement the general prison population on cost grounds.

I am not a doctor and obviously not making any recommendations for anyone else, but I do find that when I follow a higher protein/lower carb/lower sugary sweet food diet for a few weeks then I generally feel much better in myself, and more willing and able to do other things which reduce my anxiety (such as regular exercise, self care things to do with my appearance, more energy to tackle the to do list etc!) which all helps.

I will say drinking more water and being well hydrated also reduces my anxiety!!!

Thanks for replying. Would you say you didn't notice any improvement at all for the first few weeks, and then things changed?

I always find salt seems to help my anxiety. Just salt shaken on to my palm and licked off. I know it sounds weird but it does seem to make things a bit calmer.

It's certainly worth improving your diet, you have nothing to lose.
My own experience with anxiety is that there has not been one thing to "cure" it but many things which all add up to help make it more manageable.

For me that is:

• Regular exercise (I use a fitness app so I can exercise at home with minimal equipment)
• Yin style yoga (which focuses heavily on breathing and relaxation)
• Melatonin
• Therapy
• Eating well and reducing caffeine
• Making sure I'm getting out and about regularly, eg going for regular walks

I echo the suggestions of getting your vit B and vit D checked, also your thyroid function.

But also google for "serotonin in the gut". Serotonin is the "happy hormone" and almost all of it is produced in the gut. You don't seem to be eating many foods that would deplete serotonin, but stress can reduce production. I've found through that google search suggestions of foods that help to increase serotonin (of which chocolate is one, thank goodness) and also sites that recommend a good probiotic.

It’s like going to the gym: great when you are basically healthy, terrible when you have a broken leg or the flu.

A good diet can really help your brain when it is basically healthy, but it’s not going to cure mental illness. See your doctor, get a diagnosis, take medication if you need it AND start eating better.

Would you say you didn't notice any improvement at all for the first few weeks, and then things changed?

If you’re not doing it for at least a few weeks, it’s not really diet, it’s just food. You have to stick with it.

You don't seem to be eating many foods that would deplete serotonin, but stress can reduce production.

This is really interesting. I was never anxious until I was pregnant a few years ago, and that was a hugely stressful time, so that could make sense.

I actually feel great today, but it is also the first day of my period so I always feel better at that time. I do wonder if some of the anxiety is something hormonal.

I do do it for at least a few weeks, I have done many times. Usually very 'clean', unprocessed, lowish carb, fresh meat, seafood, veg. Basically what I do normally but without any crisps/cheap bread/chocolate/sausages etc at all, which I don't have a lot of but will eat a few times a month, and with the addition of making sure I eat berries and kefir yoghurt every day instead of a few times a month

It does the opposite of what all advice is. All advice says that cutting out 'junk' will help to reduce anxiety, but for me it gets worse and my PMS is unbearably bad, until I give up and have a sausage sandwich and cup of tea with sugar. I didn't know if it was some sort of 'pain before gain' barrier other people also had before these benefits appeared.

I have seen my doctor, who told me to self refer to Talking Therapies. I was never offered any medication at 100 times worse than I am now.

Personally I rely heavily on Vitamin B complex.

Yes, GPs do seem reluctant to prescribe anti-anxieties. Probably some box ticking excersize. If it is something you want to try, you might have to be a bit assertive. My mum had horrifying anxiety for years but wouldn't go to the doctors, because she was irrational, because of the anxiety. Eventually I managed to convince her to go and the GP fobbed her off and said medication wasn't necessary. I've no idea why, I'm still furiousabout it years later. Anyway, she suffered for another two years, not being able to enjoy her life, went to see a different GP who did perscribe the meds she needed, and she is now like a different person. It kills me those two years were lost, aswell as the ones before where she wouldn't even go to the doctor. When I needed the meds for myself they did also try to avoid prescribing, but I insisted. If you don't want the medication it's another kettle of fish, but make sure you're doing what you need for your own health and not just being dictated to.

Hi
Coincidentally I visited my doctor today as my anxiety has been particularly bad recently. I asked him if it was my imagination that when I ate well and reduced alcohol, exercised etc. I felt calmer, more positive etc. I was told absolutely not. Eat trash, feel trash. Obviously other factors help but taking care of our body does help take care of our mind.