When it comes to anxiety, many of us won’t even consider that our food choices might cause it, but more often than not, this is the exact reason. Maybe you think your mental state is determined by your living circumstances and environment, which of course is a significant factor, but how you perceive everything around you is greatly impacted by what you consume.
Let’s clarify this:
Food can make you aggressive, nervous, sad, irritable, and exactly the opposite. If you eat something that takes you down, of course, you would see everything through “negative glasses,” or in other words, you would always see the glass half empty.
Food that raises our estrogen levels way too much or our blood sugar and blood pressure are causing exactly those undesirable results.
Let’s dive into it:
ESTROGEN DOMINANCE:
Anxiety disorders can be linked to chemical imbalances in the body and other physiological factors such as sleep, diet, and exercise. So too, hormone imbalances can also reduce or increase your anxiety. Estrogen dominance can cause a range of mood swings, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression.
Animal products, especially dairy, chicken, and fish, contain high amounts of estrogen. People who eat meat regularly are exposed to high levels of these natural sex steroids. Dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, and ghee are innately high in hormones even if synthetic hormones aren’t added. It’s essential to consider the compounded effects of both synthetic added hormones and natural estrogens in livestock feed and medications. Chickens tend to excrete the most estrogen in their urine, indicating the highest levels of any animal raised for meat. Beef, eggs, and pork are all high-estrogen foods as well.
ALCOHOL:
Although it may seem like it calms your nerves, alcohol can have a negative impact on hydration and sleep, both of which can trigger anxiety symptoms when suppressed. Chronic alcohol misuse can lead to low testosterone and increased estrogen. Alcohol changes levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain, which can worsen anxiety. In fact, you may feel more anxious after the alcohol wears off. Alcohol-induced anxiety can last for several hours or even for an entire day after drinking.
REFINED SUGAR:
Consuming large amounts of processed sugar can trigger feelings of worry, irritability, and sadness. Added sugars cause your blood sugar to go on a roller coaster ride of spikes and crashes, and with it, your energy also goes up and down. When blood sugar crashes, your mood sours, and anxiety levels can spike. This quick spike and drop causes you to feel uneasy and can even mimic a panic attack.
However, there is more to that, and the main point is we are all different individuals, and so is our reaction to food.
ADDRESS YOUR BIOLOGICAL INDIVIDUALITY: PRESS Plans
