How to Avoid Foods That Worsen Depression and Anxiety

Опубликовал Admin
26-11-2020, 14:30
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Dealing with depression and anxiety can be difficult. When you are dealing with these conditions, the last thing you need to do is increase bad feelings or stress. Food can negatively affect your depression and anxiety, so it helps to know what to avoid. By staying away from foods that worsen your depression or anxiety, you can eliminate some of the unnecessary causes.

Changing Your Diet

  1. Steer clear of sugar. Many people who are depressed find comfort in foods, like sugary junk food. Ice cream, cakes, and other sweets can raise serotonin levels, which may make you feel better. But it’s a temporary spike which can be followed by a crash. Too much refined sugar can disrupt your moods and cause fatigue. Sugars can also lead to anxiety when your blood sugar levels drop and you experience a crash.
    • In addition to giving you a false sense of comfort, high levels of sugar can lead to health problems, such as weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease.
  2. Reduce carbohydrates. Refined carbs, such as white bread, white pasta, snack foods, and many cereals, are bad for your depression and anxiety. They can lead to blood sugar dips, which can cause bad mood swings, irritability, and sadness. Instead of refined, simple carbs, eat complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains and quinoa.
    • Avoid foods like bagels, white bread, processed crackers and chips, donuts, cakes, and muffins.
    • Low glycemic index foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are also more likely to keep your mood balanced than high GI foods (white flour, white sugar, white rice, candy, baked goods, etc.).
  3. Eat more high-quality proteins. Protein contains amino acids, which are required for proper brain functioning. Make sure that your diet includes plenty of high-quality protein to help maintain proper mood balance. The best sources of protein include meat, eggs, and dairy products.
    • Plant proteins like soy, beans, and seeds also contain amino acids, but they may not contain the proper balance of all 12 essential amino acids.
  4. Eliminate artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, can negatively affect your depression. Research shows that it blocks serotonin, which can cause you to have low moods and worsen your depression.
    • Though refined sugar can negatively affect your depression and anxiety, artificial sweeteners are worse. If you must have something sweet, avoid foods or drinks that contain aspartame. Eat something with sugar instead, but in limited amounts, or try some sweet fruit like berries or peaches, to satisfy a sugar craving.
    • Artificial sweeteners include Sweet’N Low, Equal, and NutraSweet.
  5. Cut out hydrogenated oils and bad fats. Hydrogenated oils are unhealthy trans fats found in fried foods, such as French fries, cheese sticks, fried meats, and fried vegetables. Trans fats can negatively affect your depression. Too much saturated fat, like from junk foods such as potato chips, pizza, and ice cream, can result in anxiety.
    • These foods also lead to health problems, such as heart disease and obesity.
  6. Limit alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant, so you want to avoid it when you are depressed and anxious. Because alcohol messes with your central nervous system, which includes your emotions, drinking alcohol can make your depression worse. Alcohol can also make anxiety symptoms worse.
  7. Avoid caffeine. Caffeine can cause agitation, irritability, and nervousness, which can negatively affect your anxiety. Caffeine also causes problems with sleep, which may worsen your depression.
    • Don’t drink energy drinks. These drinks are full of caffeine and sugar, both of which negatively influence anxiety and depression.
    • If you drink coffee, limit your intake. Be careful not to drink large coffees that contain concentrated amounts of caffeine and sugar, like you can buy at coffee chains.
  8. Limit your sodium intake. Foods with too much sodium can worsen your depression. Sodium can make your emotions fluctuate, which can negatively affect your depression and cause anxiety.
    • Too much sodium can also weaken your immune system and cause fatigue.
  9. Increase your Omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements can treat depression when taken regularly. Omega-3 fats can be found in fish, like salmon, sardines, trout, fresh tuna, herring, mackerel, and halibut. Some foods may be enriched with Omega-3 fatty acids, like eggs, milk, soy milk, yogurt, bread, cereal, flour, and peanut butter. Nuts and seeds also contain Omega-3s, like walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and flaxseeds.
    • Look for an omega-3 fatty acid supplement that contains between 1.5 to 2g of EPA. This amount was shown to improve the moods of depressed people when taken daily.
  10. Consider supplementing your diet to help with depression. Some supplements have been shown to improve symptoms of depression when taken on a daily basis. Before taking supplements for depression symptoms, make sure that you check with your doctor. Also, make sure that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions for dosing.
    • Vitamin B12. Taking a supplement of 0.4 mg of vitamin B12 every day has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression. If you take a multivitamin, then check to see if it contains this amount.
    • Folic acid. Taking 0.8 mg of folic acid every day has also been shown to decrease symptoms of depression as well. You can take a multivitamin that contains this amount or take it as a solo supplement.
    • Magnesium. Taking magnesium has also been shown to treat depression. Try taking 125 to 300 mg of magnesium with each of your meals and at bedtime as well. This dosage was shown to reduce depression symptoms in less than a week.
    • Vitamin D. A lack of vitamin D has been shown to correlate with depression. Take a daily multivitamin that contains vitamin D, or spend 10 to 15 minutes outdoors on a sunny day to allow your body to make vitamin D.

Changing Your Eating Habits

  1. Refrain from skipping meals. Depression can lead to not eating. You can lose your appetite or even start sleeping through meals. Not eating proper amounts of food can lead you to be irritable or worsen your moods. It can make your depression worse.
    • Even if you don’t feel like eating, try to keep a regular eating schedule. Even if you eat small meals, make sure to eat.
  2. Try not to get into a food rut. When you are depressed, choosing meals and cooking food can be overwhelming. This means you may end up eating the same food every day or even for every meal. This may mean that you eat whatever is in your fridge or cabinets, which may not provide the proper nutrients your body needs. Try to eat a balanced diet. Don’t try to fix elaborate meals. Cook simple foods, like baked fish or chicken or steamed vegetables.
    • Ask friends or family for help if you need. They might be able to help you prepare meals.
  3. Refrain from getting fast food. When you’re depressed, going through a drive thru for lunch or dinner may seem easier than cooking for yourself. Fast food, like hamburgers, hotdogs, and pizza, can lead to depression. However, fast foods are full of trans fats and are unhealthy. They can make you feel bad in addition to causing health problems.
    • If you want to eat out instead of cooking at home, make healthy choices. Instead of a burger and fries, eat a salad, baked chicken, or a vegetable wrap.
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