Eating to help reduce anxiety
We can all feel anxious from time to time. While individuals with anxiety disorders require therapy and/or medication, for individuals with milder cases of anxiety changed to your diet may help.
1. Omega-3
Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish. Omega-3 acids protect you against inflammation and have been show to improve your overall mood and ability to cope with stress. Click here for more information. This study shows a 20% reduction in anxiety levels amongst medical students taking omega-3. While this study shows how omega-3 acts as an anti-depressant.
2. Drink chamomile tea. See studies for evidence of how it helps with anxiety.
3. Eat dark chocolate.
There’s actually a chemical reason called anandamide, a neurotransmitter produced in your brain that temporarily blocks feelings of pain and depression. It’s a derivative of the Sanskrit word “bliss,” and one of the great things about chocolate is that it not only produces this compound, it also contains other chemicals that prolong the “feel-good” aspects of anandamide. In addition there is a scientific study which shows that it helps you feel calm – so eat dark chocolate without feeling guilty! See scientific study for evidence.
4. Protein snacks.
If like me you are the king of person who needs snacks between meals, then choose a high protein snack like an organic egg, cheese or macadamia nuts as these will stabilise your blood sugar level which means your energy levels don’t slump and your mood doesn’t either.
5. Eat bananas.
Bananas contain dopamine, a natural reward chemical that boosts your mood. They’re also rich in B vitamins, including vitamin B6, which help soothe your nervous system, and magnesium, another nutrient associated with positive mood.
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Mundance superfoods – part 5
My final swap is nettles for spiralina. Spirulina's deep blue-green color reveals its active ingredient — chlorophyll — clearly. Health.com explains it as one of the oldest life forms on Earth and possibly consumed in Aztec and African diets centuries ago. Today it's touted for its ability to strengthen the immune system, reduce fatigue and combat allergies. Nettles are another plant with chlorophyll that even rivals the amount found in spirulina, but they're often found in ditch banks, forests and riverbanks. It's sometimes called "stinging nettle" because it does just that; if you touch it without wearing gloves, the tiny hairs on every surface sting like a bee due to the presence of formic acid, leaving small red welts. But internally, Bon Appetit asserts, it acts like a tonic:
"Taken over time, nettle will strengthen your circulatory, immune, and endocrine systems to promote peak function. The stronger these systems, the better position our bodies are in to deal with whatever might come our way."
Cooked or dried, though, this pesky stinging problem goes away completely; good thing, too, because this free foraging food is highly nutritious, containing fiber, lecithin, chlorophyll, sodium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium and vitamins A and C, according to Mother Earth News. It's been used in birth rooms and battlefields to stop bleeding, both internally and externally, and is considered to purify blood, as well. As a tea:"It has been found to help cure mucus congestion, skin irritations, water retention and diarrhea … stimulate the digestive glands of the stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and gall bladder. Applied externally, nettle tea … relieves rheumatism in both people and animals, makes a first-class gargle for mouth and throat infections, helps to clear up acne and eczema and promotes the healing of burns."
To complete the series I want to point out that brocalli is arguably one of the most nutirtious vegatables readily available in supermakets. Not only does it support normal cell function and division, it helps your body detoxify and reduces inflammation and damage from reactive oxygen species (ROS). Another vegatable that I would highly recommend is rocket. It has many of the same nutrients and healing compounds, including fiber, vitamins A, C (to boost the immune system) and K (for bone strength), folate, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and manganese that are found in cabbage and brocalli. One study showed that rocket can be a powerful aid against gastrointestinal ulcers, psoriasis and skin, lung and mouth cancers. Many more vitamins and minerals help lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function. References Bon Appétit July 19, 2017 Health December 27, 2016 Mother Earth News March/April 1981Can acupuncture cut hot flushes by half?
Hot flushes are temporary but recurring feeling of warmth that spreads over the body which often begins in the head and neck region and can be very troublesome. Hot flushes often occur during sleep, producing perspiration known as night sweats. As a result, hot flushes can have a big impact on your quality of life. Hot flushes are one of the most common symptoms women have when they go through the menopause. About 3 out of 4 women going through the menopause (75%) will have hot flushes. If you've had one, there's no mistaking it: the sudden, intense, hot feeling on your face and upper body, perhaps preceded or accompanied by a rapid heartbeat and sweating, nausea, dizziness, anxiety, headache, weakness, or a feeling of suffocation. Researches recruited 209 women who experienced at least four hot flushes or night sweats every day. All the patients received up to 20 acupuncture treatments within 6 months. Nearly half the women saw a 47% reduction in hot flushes or night sweats, while almost 12% reported that their symptoms had stopped almost completely although 4% actually saw an increase in their problems. What is interesting is that most of the women how saw their hot flushes and night sweats decrease started seeing improvements after three sessions. Research http://www.wakehealth.edu/News-Releases/2016/Acupuncture_Reduces_Hot_Flashes_for_Half_of_Women,_Study_Finds.htm
Do self hypnosis CD’s really boost resilience?
As things are now back to full swing after the summer holiday, and before things get too budy, I wanted to share with you a piece of research that while being 3 years old is still highly relevant. Researchers were looking at the effectiveness of listening to self-administered hypnosis stress reduction CD's to boost resilience. Eleven subjects took part in the study, all healthy, normally coping and functioning individuals - were provided with a self-administered hypnosis stress reduction CD, to be used for a minimum of 5 days a week over a 12 week period. The CD contained two different hypnosis tracks, one to be played before sleep (25 minutes in duration) and the other to be played in the morning (lasting 7 minutes). The aim of the CD was to recondition the stress response, by minimising the participants "excessive emotional and physical reaction to perceived work and life stressors, while facilitating their coping skills and resilience." Chronic stress and anxiety have been associated with inflammatory changes in the body, and high level of inflammation have been lined to a number of acute and chronic conditions. Blood tests were used to measure the level of inflammatory response and self-reported measures (using the StressScan assesment) were taken pre and post intervention. While the study size is small, it provides some suggestive evidence that a self-administered stress reduction program that is time efficient may be clinically effective for modifying the stress response and boosting resilience. Reference Schoen M and Nowack K (2013) Reconditioning the stress response with hypnosis CD reduces the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and influences resilience: a pilot study. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 2013; 19 83-88 http://www.ctcpjournal.com/article/S1744-3881(12)00088-6/abstract
