Anxiety --- a normal symptom of stress --- can make your body and mind feel unpleasant. The symptoms of anxiety include fear, agitation and worrying. You may feel anxious on the day of your examination, but your anxiety tends to disappear after the examination. In certain cases, even without the presence of the stressor, you can still develop anxiety --- such as when you eat in excess of certain types of foods that constrict blood flow and interfere with the normal functioning of your central nervous system.
Caffeinated Beverages And Food
Tea, coffee, cocoa and soda have a very high content of caffeine. MedlinePlus states that high intake of caffeine can cause irritability, restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, headaches and irregular heartbeats. These symptoms occur because caffeine constricts blood flow to the heart muscle and decreases blood flow to the brain. Because blood transports oxygen and nutrients to tissues, reducing blood flow will interrupt normal cellular activity and interfere with the body tissues from doing their work. Certain people can develop anxiety from drinking only one cup of coffee, while others can intake more than two cups of coffee. These observations suggest that you should know your maximum intake of caffeinated beverages to avoid the development of anxiety.
High-Fat Diet
Dr. Elinor Sullivan and her colleagues conducted a study with results revealed in the March 2010 issue of "The Journal of Neuroscience," showing significant findings of high-fat diet and its inducement in anxiety in primates. The researchers fed high-fat meals and standard-fat meals to two groups of primates for four years. Seventy-eight percent of offsprings from maternal primates who received high-fat meals exhibited increased anxiety and aggression, of which 55 percent accounts for anxiety compared with 11 percent from the standard-fat diet group. The findings imply that pregnant women should limit or avoid high-fat diet, such as junk foods and fast foods, as it can induce the development of anxiety and aggression in infants.
Alcohol
A small amount of alcohol can help you relax by suppressing your fear and other thoughts that might prevent you from acting otherwise. However, a high consumption of alcohol can increase your blood pressure, induce irregular heartbeat, weaken your heart muscle, interfere with your ability to coordinate physically, cause mental confusion, decrease concentration, and induce irritability and anxiety. Because alcohol suppresses the normal functioning of the brain, anxiety becomes difficult to control, and as a result, your muscles will tense up, and you will find it difficult to relax and think clearly.
References
- MedlinePlus: Caffeine
- "The Journal of Neuroscience"; Chronic Consumption of a High-Fat Diet during Pregnancy Causes Perturbations in the Serotonergic System and Increased Anxiety-Like Behavior in Nonhuman Primate Offspring; L. Elinor Sullivan, Ph.D., et al.; March 2010
- Macquarie University--Department of Psychology: Fact Sheets--Alcohol
