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Nutrition for Anxiety, Morning to Evening

Does the conversation about increasing rates of anxiety ever make you…anxious? Sometimes I find myself overwhelmed by the statistics: 19% of American adults currently struggle with an anxiety disorder, making it the most common mental illness in the United States1. That’s almost one in five people.

When statistics feel overwhelming, I try to make the problem smaller by focusing on the things I can control. While I can’t control other people, I can make daily choices to promote peace over anxiety in my brain. One way I encourage mental and emotional stability is by eating foods that lower the risk of triggering anxiety throughout the day. Nutrition can be a great support for your physical and mental wellbeing but always seek a professional if possible for additional help.

Here’s an overview of how to plan meals and snacks each day!

Morning

At breakfast, eating only simple carbs (bagels, bread, cereals) will lead to blood sugar spikes and then crashes that exacerbate your anxiety. Anxiety symptoms overlap with many low-blood-sugar symptoms: racing heart, emotional instability, sweating. Anxiety itself is actually a symptom of low blood sugar! Make proteins and fats the focal point of your breakfast, and they will act to “anchor” your blood sugar, helping to keep your mind calm.

If you struggle with anxiety, consider also backing off on caffeine. Caffeine can add to anxiety symptoms and even induce panic attacks.2  

In the words of one of my favorite dietitians,

“What is worse for increasing anxiety than a caffeinated drink? Well, you guessed it, it’s a caffeinated drink loaded with sugar…”3

Make a plan to replace your sugary, caffeinated drink from the coffee shop. I love coffee, but it isn’t worth your sanity to feel a boost in productivity. Maybe you cut back from three daily drinks to two, maybe you switch to half-caf drinks, or maybe you choose to skip the syrup next time. Every effort is worth applauding; no shame here!

Try this: 

For breakfast, heat up turkey sausage, and saute some frozen spinach, peppers, or onions in the same pan.

Swap your morning beverage for a half-caf version.

Mid-Day

One recent study found that eating ultra-processed food was associated with increased depression and anxiety symptoms4. Make whole foods (versus packaged) your MO when packing lunches and snacks. Eating fewer individually packaged treats leads to less plastic waste, too- win-win! 

Try this: 

Replace snacking on Cheez-Its or chips with snacking on apples and chunks of cheese- I love pepperjack!

Evening

If you struggle with falling asleep or find yourself up worrying in the middle of the night, I have three ideas for you:

  1. Remove all afternoon caffeine (and cut back on your morning caffeine to really combat the bedtime anxiety).
  2. Choose a high-fat versus a high-carb bedtime snack so that low blood sugar doesn’t wake you up in the night.
  3. Add a magnesium supplement. Many Americans are deficient, and magnesium can help with decreasing anxiety and promoting sleep5.

Try this:

Pull out some frozen berries, and pour some heavy whipping cream over them for an easy, high-fat summer bedtime snack. If you want to be fancy, whip the cream with an immersion blender!

1https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics

2https://www.verywellmind.com/how-does-caffeine-affect-anxiety-6748834

3https://www.weightandwellness.com/resources/podcasts/what-has-anxiety-got-do-food

4https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9268228/

5https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22364157/