By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

We seem to be a nation of anxious people. And yes, the events of the past couple years can make us more anxious, but a lot of anxiety is just generalized anxiety. Anxiety can also add to irritability, anger and stress. Anxiety can make it difficult to work, deal with day-to-day decisions, and it affects your relationships. Often it just simmers in the background, leaving you feeling ‘on edge’ all the time.

While many people run to the doctor for an anti-anxiety prescription, which is difficult to stop once you start, and often has unpleasant side effects.

You can realistically manage your anxiety far better by fixing it at the source, avoid prescription medications, and improve your overall health. And—surprise—fixing anxiety doesn’t start with your head; it starts with your gut.

Specific bacteria in the gut are responsible for creating about 90% or more of the serotonin in our bodies. Serotonin is the brain chemical responsible for helping you feel calm and happy. Yes, a brain chemical that is made in the gut. Let’s go into a little anatomy lesson to see how this works.

The enteric nervous system in the gut and the central nervous system were formed out of the same tissue in fetal development. So actually, the nervous system in the gut, which is quite extensive, is like a ‘second brain’. These two nervous systems have a direct line of communication via the vagus nerve, which runs from your brain stem to the nervous system in your gut.

This nervous system in the gut is made up of sheaths of neurons embedded in the walls of the entire gut, which is about 9 meters long from the mouth to the anus. This second brain contains somewhere around 100 million neurons—more than in either the spinal cord or the peripheral nervous system!

Certain gut bacteria play a very important role in immunity, synthesizing nutrients from the food you consume, and creating chemicals that help the brain and our emotional and mental health.

What I find very interesting, however, is that about 90% of the fibers in the vagus nerve in the digestive system actually carry information from the gut to the brain, and not the other way around. So, you see, the gut controls the brain to a large extent. These messages from the gut to the brain can have a powerful influence on moods, including anxiety and depression.

Scientists also know that the bacteria in the gut manufactures around 90% of the body’s serotonin, an important brain chemical directly affects moods, like anxiety and depression as well as some mental illnesses, such as bipolar, schizophrenia, and OCD.

Other symptoms of low serotonin besides anxiety and depression include, low energy, anger, craving of carbohydrates and sweets, and reduced interest in sex.

How to support the serotonin factory in your gut

Many of us have diets (whether we realize it or not) that are contributing to inflammation in the gut. Inflammation can come from eating a diet high in processed foods, too much conventional dairy, processed vegetable oils, too much sugar and other food allergies or sensitivities like gluten, corn and even foods that were sprayed with glyphosate.

Note: glyphosate is a very common herbicide used in the United States, and sprayed on most all (except organic) grains and legumes to dry them out before harvest. Glyphosate has been shown to kill off beneficial gut bacteria, upsetting the gut’s ability to create serotonin. In fact, glyphosate has been shown to increase both anxiety and depression in animal studies.

Individuals with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), celiac disease or gluten sensitivity tend to report increased levels of anxiety due to the inflammation that exists in the gut. There is a definite link between gluten issues and anxiety and depression. Our gut bacteria are also highly susceptible to:

• Chlorinated and fluoridated water
• Antibacterial soap
• Herbicide and pesticide residue in food
• Air and water pollution

Taking care of our gut

First of all, if you have any type of IBS, gluten sensitivity, or food allergies, or if you have ever had issues with anxiety, depression, or any other mental or emotional issues it’s time for an elimination diet.

Eliminate:

• Gluten
• Corn
• Dairy

Often this one step will make a huge difference.

The next step is to eliminate all processed foods. Stop eating sugar, especially the kind that is added to food like high fructose corn syrup (usually in processed foods). Processed foods feed harmful bacteria and candida.

Important to totally avoid consuming any vegetable seed oils such as canola oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, soybean oil. These oils have been proven to be cancer-causing, increase your chances of Alzheimer’s, are highly inflammatory, and instrumental in causing anxiety and depression.

Many people find amazing relief from anxiety and depression when they correct their diet and take out offending foods. And, eating a healthy, whole foods diet with lots of fresh organic vegetables, a little bit of fruit, plenty of naturally raised meat, and healthy saturated fats actually feeds the good bacteria in the gut.

Apples, artichokes, blueberries, almonds, and pistachios have also all been shown to increase Bifidobacteria in humans. Bifidobacteria are considered beneficial bacteria, as they can help prevent intestinal inflammation, and prevent anxiety.

Adding in a broad-spectrum probiotic supplement containing Bifidobacterioum longum and Lactobacillus rhamnosus will also spur the growth of this healthier bacteria colony.

Other things that can increase anxiety are alcohol, too much sugar, not enough sleep, not enough exercise, estrogen dominance (a common condition in perimenopausal and menopausal women), too much caffeine and some medications.

A multi-B vitamin containing methylfolate, and methylcobalmin, has also been shown to effectively manage anxiety and depression—which often go hand in hand. Other valuable nutritional supplements include magnesium, zinc, omega 3’s, and choline—a nutrient often very low in menopausal and post-menopausal women.

References
https://www.jeffnobbs.com/posts/death-by-vegetable-oil-what-the-studies-say
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/anxiety-are-nutritional-deficiencies-a-common-cause/
https://draxe.com/health/natural-remedies-anxiety/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/nutritional-strategies-to-ease-anxiety-201604139441

The post The Diet and Anxiety Connection appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

While small amounts of stress can actually be motivating, ever-present stress in our lives can wear us down. And when we feel powerless to change the situation, stress can easily become anxiety.

Recession, job loss, financial difficulties, the media headlines, economic ups and downs, rising prices, pandemics, schedules and routines disrupted, kids/school, home, your work environment—I could go on and on. Our world has certainly become a more stressful place to be lately. Even if you are not necessarily a person who gets stressed easily, the changing events in our lives can become stressful and anxiety-producing. Even if you don’t think you are affected by any of these outside events.

Other things that can actually exacerbate stress include hormone imbalances such as those in women in peri-menopause or menopause, and even the blue light from computers and telephones. Sure, it’s a great stress reliever to tune into Instagram or Tiktok before bed, but all that blue light is just adding more stress, affects your sleep and can multiply anxiety issues.

A combination of overexposure to blue light and lack of sleep increase stress and anxiety. Blue light suppresses melatonin—the sleep hormone. And blue light can also suppress the production of cortisol, the hormone associated with the “fight or flight” response to stressful situations. Suppressing cortisol makes us less capable to cope with daily stressors and increases anxiety build up.

While some stress in our lives is actually healthy for ambition, drive, and improved performance, chronic and uncontrolled stress will cause our bodies to suffer the consequences in many different ways, including weight gain, reduced immunity, irritability, and more serious health problems. We may not even realize that any of these negative issues actually come from stress.

A few of the many symptoms of stress you can be experiencing—even if you don’t think you are stressed:

• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Forgetfulness
• Weight gain especially around midsection
• Hormonal issues
• Digestive upset
• Sore jaw, clenching your teeth
• Lower or upper back pain
• Constipation
• Inability to focus
• Strange or scary dreams
• Jealousy or insecurity
• Acne
• Skin rashes
• Loss of confidence
• Minor accidents
• Frequent colds or infections
• Increased anger and frustration
• Overeating or loss of appetite
• Sadness or loneliness
• Fidgeting
• Constant fatigue
• Problems communicating
• Heart palpitations
• Shortness of breath
• Feelings of impending doom

When stress feels uncontrollable, we get anxious. And that brings on that drowning feeling of overwhelm—especially when you feel helpless to change the situation.

All of these feelings, stress, anxiety and overwhelm can actually be boiled down to a fear-based reaction. When you are experiencing anything that feels scary and stressful and out of your control, you feel fear. When this happens adrenaline and cortisol flood your system, shutting down your ability to think rationally, feel organized and calm, and in control.

Anxiety and stress can become so commonplace, that many people tune it out and it becomes background noise. The problem is, stress and anxiety can build up until you have a serious problem that may manifest itself in panic attacks, loss of sleep, problems with relationships and serious physical health issues.

People often ignore some of the physical manifestations of stress which can harm the immune system, the digestive system, the nervous system and even the cardiovascular system.

Counteracting the manifestations of stress and lowering anxiety—before you overwhelmed

The goal here isn’t to be fearless–it’s to not let it rule your life. What to do when stress and anxiety seem unavoidable? Take control and take action. Action beats anxiety—and stress—and overwhelm.

Actions you can take to avoid stress:

• Avoid the news, especially at night
• Avoid social media—yes really!
• Take care of yourself—make healthy changes to diet, drink less, exercise more

Get your gut and your diet on track. The bacteria in our gut are responsible for creating something like 90% of the serotonin in our bodies. Serotonin is that all-important brain chemical made in the gut and sent to the brain. Serotonin is responsible for making us feel calm and happy. We all need more of that. Symptoms of low serotonin include anxiety, depression and low energy.

Alcohol can make anxiety worse. People often drink alcohol to lower anxiety but in the long run this adds to stress and anxiety by ruining sleep, interfering with relationships and your job/career.

Other things that add to anxiety include sugar, poor sleep, no exercise, estrogen dominance, too much caffeine and medications. And a lack of certain vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, C vitamins and magnesium will also cause anxiety.

A few things I’d suggest trying to help lower that anxiety:

• Recognize your anxiety. Don’t try to push it in the background, because it won’t go away, instead it will simmer and overflow at some point. Acknowledge it. Look for that root cause.

• Do a detox diet. Cut back or eliminate dairy, gluten, sugar, caffeine and alcohol for a week. See how you feel.

• Eat more veggies especially leafy green ones. Get healthy protein in the form of grass fed meats, wild caught fish, and pastured eggs. If you’re vegan, you may need to consider eating meat. Many vegans have anxiety issues due to lack of certain nutrients.

• Avoid processed vegetable oils such as soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil and sunflower oil. Eat healthy fats including butter, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil. Your brain needs healthy fats to work well.

• Certain supplements fight anxiety like B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D3, omega 3’s and magnesium. Magnesium is especially helpful but be sure to take the right form of magnesium.

• Other supplements that work for anxiety include GABA, a calming brain chemical, ashwaganda, which is an herbal supplement, valerian root and turmeric.

So even if the world seems like it’s falling apart, realize it is ok to sometimes feel a little stress, anxiety or even a sense of overwhelm on occasion. Just remember, don’t let it take over your life. It’s ok. We all get stressed sometimes. Acknowledge it, take care of yourself and take action!

References:
https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/anxiety/how-to-tell-if-you-have-anxiety-10-signs-and-symptoms/?network=g&placement=&target=&matchtype=b&ad_type=text&adposition=&utm_source=AdWords&utm_medium=Search_PPC_c&utm_term=_b&utm_content=77548444015&network=g&placement=&target=&matchtype=b&utm_campaign=6459244691&ad_type=text&adposition=&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8rT8BRCbARIsALWiOvRZ_Lw9cMjFBikxTgf3ddIkgZQad63MkIEG90W3MenneCjwEeRuQs8aAj_0EALw_wcB
https://happywithbaby.com/blog/i-didnt-realize-i-had-anxiety
https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/voices-of-experience/hidden-signs-of-stress-and-anxiety/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-natural-anxiety-remedies/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-it-means-overwhelmed/

The post The Sneaky Stress & Anxiety Symptoms Negatively Affecting Your Life… appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.