Eating habits may not cure anxiety problems, but certain foods, including dairy products, contain substances that may help improve your mood. A nutritious, well-balanced diet usually provides better overall health to help you feel better. The amino acids in dairy products and other healthy foods can even help relieve or prevent symptoms of anxiety by affecting neurotransmitters, chemicals in the brain that regulate mood and behavior.
Serotonin
Milk, cheese and eggs contain the amino acid tryptophan, which helps produce serotonin, MedlinePlus notes. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, may stabilize moods and help improve sleep, often a difficulty for people suffering from anxiety. Amino acids break down from protein during digestion and enter the bloodstream. Tryptophan travels to the brain network where it converts to serotonin.
Foods to Help Tryptophan
Having an adequate supply of vitamin B-6 helps tryptophan convert to serotonin, according to Psych Central. You can get B-6 through fish, cereal and liver. Other foods containing tryptophan include poultry, fish, nuts, peanut butter, soy, tofu, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds. Carbohydrate foods, such as whole grain bread, cereal and pasta, help produce tryptophan by releasing insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin clears away other amino acids to allow tryptophan easier access to the brain.
Carbohydrates and Protein
Milk and cheese contain significant amounts of carbohydrates and protein. Other amino acids from protein may overpower tryptophan. For example, tyrosine, affects dopamine and epinephrine, neurotransmitters that boost energy and mental alertness. Middle State Tennessee University suggests eating carbohydrates and protein separately, depending on the effects you want. Too much energy from dairy products and other protein foods may exacerbate anxiety. You may want to go easy on dairy and enjoy more carbohydrate foods for relaxation effects. Focusing on low-fat or nonfat dairy foods avoids digestive problems that can occur from high-fat items and aggravate anxiety.
Avoiding Anxiety
Eat frequent, small meals to keep your energy levels stable throughout the day to relieve or combat anxiety, MayoClinic.com recommends. For some people, dairy or other foods may cause food sensitivities that lead to irritability and anxiety. Anxiety often results from stressful situations, such as difficulties at work or financial problems. Anxiety also helps you to overcome problems by thinking of solutions. While some anxiety is normal from time to time, prolonged anxiety indicates anxiety disorder, which causes constant worry or concern about issues that do not require such focus. A mental health professional can easily treat the condition through therapy and medication. Some medications for severe anxiety or depression raise serotonin levels to improve moods.
