Healthy Foods That Can Ease Anxiety

Anxiety disorder ranks among the most common mental illnesses in the United States. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (2015), it affects roughly 40 million adults aged 18 and older, which works out to about 18 percent of the population. If you live with it and follow a treatment plan from your doctor, there's another piece worth considering: what you put on your plate. Certain foods can take some of the edge off your symptoms.

First, a definition. Anxiety by itself is a normal human emotion. Everybody feels it now and then, maybe before a big exam, a doctor's appointment, a speech in front of a crowd, a hard conversation at work, or a decision that changes the direction of your life. That kind of anxiety has a cause, and it tends to fade once the cause is gone.

An anxiety disorder is a different animal. It's a serious psychological condition marked by persistent, unrelenting worry, apprehension, and fear that doesn't let up when the stressful moment passes. The clearest line between ordinary anxiety and a disorder comes down to how severe the symptoms are and how long they stick around. With normal anxiety, you might feel nervous or deeply worried, but you can still function: you go to work, finish your tasks, make your decisions. A disorder can stop you cold.

Disorders show up in several forms, including social anxiety, specific phobias, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. If you've been diagnosed, you'll fall into one of those categories. The symptoms (a flooding sense of dread, worry, fear, and angst) can drag on for weeks, months, or in the worst cases years. They can keep a person from getting out of bed, doing chores, or spending time with other people. An anxiety disorder can be acute, flaring up here and there, or chronic, where it keeps coming back.

The encouraging part is that diet can help, even for people with a diagnosed disorder. Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, water, low-fat dairy, and lean meats gives you a way to push back against your symptoms. Here are a handful of foods worth getting onto your plate.

Low-fat yogurt. Adding low-fat or Greek yogurt to your routine can quiet anxiety symptoms, largely because of the calcium it carries, which research has tied to lower anxiety. Other calcium-rich options include broccoli, cottage cheese, low-fat or skim milk, salmon, green beans, and spinach. Lactose intolerant? You still have choices. Coconut milk non-dairy yogurt works, and so does organic or vegan non-dairy yogurt, refrigerated or frozen, from a brand like Stonyfield Farm.

Fatty fish. Salmon, tuna, and king mackerel bring a lot to the table. They're loaded with protein and omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fats linked to steadier moods and reduced anxiety. Protein does double duty as well: it lifts your energy, helps wounds heal, and keeps neurotransmitters (the brain chemicals that run your nervous system) in balance. For other good protein sources, think lean chicken, turkey, low-fat mozzarella, pork loin, tofu, veal, lean red meat, beans, nuts, and eggs.

Dark green leafy vegetables. Collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, spinach, kale, and Swiss chard can take a real bite out of anxiety. They're packed with iron, the mineral your body relies on to move blood and oxygen to your organs, your brain included, and your muscles. Iron also helps metabolize protein, supports growth and development, and keeps red blood cell production running the way it should. You'll find iron in lean red meat, clams, pumpkin seeds, squash, nuts, liver, beans, pork, dark chocolate, tofu, and iron-fortified cereals. One thing to watch: an iron deficiency can set off or worsen anxiety and panic attacks.

Cherries. If sweet cherries are your thing, good news. They're brimming with vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin that pitches in across a long list of bodily functions. Vitamin C speeds healing, strengthens your immune system, eases physical stress, steadies moods, lowers anxiety, and brings on a calming feeling throughout the body. If cherries aren't for you, you can get vitamin C from cranberries, kiwi, blueberries, guava, strawberries, red and green peppers, grapefruit juice, Brussels sprouts, oranges, cantaloupe, and raspberries.

Brown rice. It might surprise you that brown rice can dial down anxiety. The reason is its heavy dose of vitamin B1, or thiamine, which supports your nervous system and helps regulate mood. Other foods rich in B1 include bread, lean red meat, yeast, legumes, black and pinto beans, nuts, yellowfin tuna, cooked corn, Brussels sprouts, and whole grains.

Butter. Yes, butter. It carries a decent amount of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), which produces that same calming sensation while energizing the body, lowering stress, easing depression, and assisting with healing. Plenty of other foods deliver B6 too: fish, soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, liver, baked potatoes, spinach, asparagus, yams, green peas, turnip greens, peanuts, sunflower seeds, bell peppers, whole wheat breads, bran, yellowfin tuna, and wheat germ.

Written by Dr. R. Y. Langham. References: Anxiety and Depression Association of America (2015), Anxiety: Facts and statistics; News Max (2010), Top five health benefits of iron; Orenstein, B. W. (2015), 9 foods that help or hurt anxiety, Everyday Health; WebMD (2015), Anxiety disorders.