Anxious? Try These 6 Diet Tweaks to Help You Find Calm

If you're feeling a little more on edge than usual lately, you're certainly not alone. What to do? Well, the first step toward reining in that anxiety may be to look at what you're eating.

"A balanced diet helps us stay grounded and more resilient by balancing hormones, neurotransmitters and blood sugar, which all contribute to an emotional state of wellbeing," says Cindy Klinger, RDN, LDN, an integrative dietitian at Cambiati Wellness.

Indeed, a healthy diet is linked to lower levels of anxiety, according to a January 2017 study in ‌BMC Medicine‌. And it may even have the power to increase happiness, life satisfaction and overall wellbeing, per an August 2016 ‌American Journal of Public Health‌ study that included more than 12,000 people.

Here, we'll dig into what healthy eating means in this context and some diet dos and don'ts when you're trying to find your zen.

The healthy diet described in the ‌BMC Medicine‌ study was based on the Mediterranean diet, and a staple of that eating pattern is fatty fish like wild salmon, mackerel, sardines and trout.

These are all high in zinc, Klinger says, which is a nutrient some people with anxiety may be lacking. Plus, the omega-3 fatty acids these fish contain play a vital role in brain health overall, she adds.

One meta-analysis, published September 2018 in ‌JAMA Network Open‌, reviewed 19 clinical trials and found that omega-3 fatty acid supplements — which are usually derived from fish oil — may help ease anxiety symptoms in people diagnosed with a range of physical and mental health problems. (The authors noted that larger trials still need to be done, though.)

Probiotic-rich fermented foods, including pickles and sauerkraut as well as yogurt and kefir, have been linked to lower anxiety levels.

One August 2015 study in the journal ‌Psychiatry Research ‌found a link between probiotic foods and less social anxiety, specifically, although the authors note that more research needs to be done to establish more than correlation.

Fresh produce tends to be a very good source of antioxidants, and anxiety is thought to correlate with a lowered total antioxidant state, revealed March 2014 research in ‌Current Neuropharmacology‌. So it's plausible, then, that enjoying plenty of antioxidant-rich foods may help you feel more settled.

However, only one in 10 adults gets the recommended servings of fruits and veggies each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The immediate effect of alcohol may be calming. But as alcohol is processed by your body, it can interfere with sleep — and a lack of quality sleep can perpetuate anxiety, per Harvard Health Publishing.

Caffeine affects everyone differently, but it can make some people feel nervous and jittery. It can also interfere with sleep, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Even mild dehydration can affect your mood, according to an August 2018 analysis of 33 studies published in ‌Physiological Reports‌.

Going too long without eating may cause your blood sugar to drop, making you feel jittery and worsening underlying anxiety, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

This is especially true if you're eating more simple carbs and processed foods (think: white bread and rice, sweets and soda), which can spike your blood sugar. Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, are metabolized more slowly, and thus help maintain a more even blood sugar level, which creates a calmer feeling.

Examples of complex carbs include the following, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

• Oatmeal
• Brown rice
• Quinoa
• Potatoes
• Beans
• Peas
• Lentils

More and more studies are linking the foods we eat to our mental state, but plenty of research still needs to be done to fully understand the connection, especially when it comes to causation vs. correlation.

There's no drawback to adopting a healthier diet, but there's no evidence that certain foods or eating approaches can treat or cure mental illnesses. In other words, diet adaptations should not take the place of traditional mental health treatments. If your anxiety is interfering with your daily life and you are struggling to manage it well on your own, consult with your doctor or another health care professional to get the help you need.