In this fast-paced, fast-food, lose-weight-quick society, it's easy to get caught up in the latest fad diet and lose sense of what food is really meant to do: nourish and power the body. Without a nutritionally balanced diet, the body subsists on inadequate fuel. We really are what we eat, both emotionally and physically, so why wouldn't we want to give ourselves the best foods for our body?
Our Eat for Wellness plans are meant to help you find the right foods to help you feel your physical and emotional best no matter what your needs might be.
Eat for Wellness: Anti-Anxiety Diet
Does the deadline seem more manageable when you're armed with a bag of cookies? It's true that food soothes. But when life's stresses add up to an anxiety attack, you don't need the food that you eat to make you more anxious. Here's how the Anti-Anxiety Diet can help you choose the right foods to stay calm — even when you're faced with stressful situations:
- Complex carbs act as tranquilizers by increasing your amount of serotonin, the neurotransmitter that calms, in your brain. This meal plan contains lots of fruits and whole-grain foods to increase your complex carb intake.
- Tryptophan — a precursor to seratonin — has a calming effect on the body. This meal plan includes turkey and milk choices, both of which contain tryptophan.
- Caffeine can make you jittery and anxious. This diet substitutes a cup of calming herbal tea, such as St. John's Wort or chamomile, for your morning java.
- Chronic dehydration — however slight — can cause feelings of anxiety. That's why this diet includes plenty of water, often with some lemon or lime added to liven it up.
Frequent, small meals can help keep blood-sugar levels even. This diet offers a variety of healthy snacks to reduce the jitters that can accompany low blood sugar. Start eating the breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks that will help reduce your anxiety.
BREAKFAST
Option One :
whole-wheat English muffin topped with natural peanut butter
calcium-fortified orange juice
chamomile tea
multivitamin and mineral supplement
Option Two :
whole wheat banana muffin with added raisins and walnuts (raisins are high in B6, and walnuts in omega-3)
½ cup fat-free cottage cheese
decaf coffee
multivitamin and mineral supplement
Option Three :
oatmeal with bananas
calcium-fortified orange juice
St. John 's Wort tea
LUNCH
Option One :
whole-wheat pita pizza topped with low-fat cheese, tomato sauce and fresh-sliced veggies
fresh orange sections
soda water with lime
Option Two :
pita pocket sandwich filled with turkey, tomatoes, lettuce and sprouts
fruit salad with banana, pineapple and oranges
skim milk
Option Three :
three bean salad on greens
whole-wheat tortilla
chamomile tea
DINNER
Option One :
quick turkey tetrazzini
mixed green salad
pot of peppermint tea
Option Two :
meat tenderloin roast
½ acorn squash with butter and brown sugar
banana bread pudding
spring water with lemon
Option Three :
thai tofu stir-fry
brown basmati rice
fruit salad
decaf green tea
SNACKS (choose two a day)
mixed dried fruit and nuts
6 ounces fat free yogurt topped with fresh berries and chopped walnuts
whole-wheat crackers with almond butter
small corn tortilla filled with hummus and sprouts
Healthy Dose and Don'tsDo:
- Take a multivitamin supplement that includes B and B6. Even undetectable malnutrition can lead to feelings of anxiety
- Exercise daily. The endorphins produced make you feel relaxed, plus exercise reduces muscle tension and blood pressure
- Drink plenty of water or other fluids like herb tea
Don't:
- Consume alcohol. Sure, a glass of wine before a big date takes the edge off, but the calming effect of alcohol is short-lived. Once it has worn off, there is a likelihood that your level of anxiety will actually increase
- Consume caffeine, which can be found in tea, coffee, many sodas, chocolate, and some energy/sports drinks and foods
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