Anxiety disorder may stem from several mental health issues. Conditions include generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder and social or other phobias. Some people may experience more than one anxiety disorder or may have co-existing conditions, such as depression, eating disorders or alcoholism. People may overeat or eat less often because of an anxiety disorder. A healthy diet along with treatment helps you to overcome anxiety disorder.
Professional Treatment
Prescribed medication and therapy play important roles in treating anxiety disorder, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. Medication may help to raise levels of brain chemicals, including serotonin, norepinephrine or dopamine, to improve moods of patients. Psychotherapy helps you to understand the reasons behind your fears and ways to change your thinking patterns from negative to positive thoughts. Exposure therapy helps patients to learn to cope with their anxiety. For example, people with phobias spend more time in the situations they fear, such as in elevators, to slowly diminish their fears and react better to those circumstances.
Protein Boost
Certain foods affect neurotransmitters that contribute to mood changes. Protein in foods breaks down into amino acids during digestion, according to an article posted on the Middle Tennessee State University website. The amino acids include tyrosine, which helps to increase levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. The process produces improvement in mental alertness and energy. Eating meat, poultry, fish and dairy foods may help to relieve anxiety by boosting brain chemical reaction, just as medication does.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates increase levels of another amino acid, tryptophan. The consumption of carbohydrates releases more insulin in the blood, which clears away many amino acids, but leaves tryptophan alone to travel from the bloodstream to the brain. Tryptophan converts into serotonin, a brain chemical that causes relaxation and helps with sleep. People with anxiety disorders may suffer from insomnia and an inability to relax. Eating complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, may help to improve moods, the Mayo Clinic notes. Adding whole-grain bread, pasta and cereal, brown rice and oatmeal to the diet may relieve anxiety. Other foods that increase levels of tryptophan include milk, bananas, oats, poultry, cheese and nuts.
Vitamin Deficiency
Anxiety may result from vitamin deficiencies, including a lack of vitamin B-12, or folic acid, vitamin B-1, or thiamine, and vitamin B-6, also known as pyridoxine. Green vegetables, fruit, fish and dairy products contain folic acid. Eat more fish, liver, cereal and yeast for pyridoxine. Thiamine can be found in meat, grains and yeast. Plenty of fruits and vegetables provide vitamin C, which helps when dealing with stressful situations for protection against anxiety.
