As anxiety levels are at an all time high, with an estimated 1/3rd of the North American population struggling (1), one has to wonder what the root cause is of this “anxiety epidemic” we are seeing today?!
The truth is, aside from childhood upbringing, lifestyle factors and media inputs, the things we put into our bodies (either via food or beverages) have a HUGE impact on our anxiety levels! In fact, there are 5 things that are consumed almost everyday by the majority of the population that have been found to directly trigger anxiety!
5 Things You Might Consume Daily that Trigger Anxiety:
- PESTICIDES:
Pesticides, (especially glyphosate – the most commonly used pesticide world wide), are one of the greatest often unknown triggers of anxiety! These chemicals, that are sprayed on almost all foods that are not organic, cause inflammation within the body, and kill the important bacteria that help synthesize serotonin (our happy hormone). This has a huge effect on anxiety because 90% of the bodies’ serotonin is produced within the intestinal tract (aka the gut)! On top of this, pesticides are constantly degrading gut health, leading to the breakdown of the gut membrane which separates ones’ internal environment from their external environment. When the gut membrane breaks down, toxins that were never meant to enter the rest of the body, begin to free flow through out the bloodstream. These toxins are considered another huge trigger of anxiety. - REFINED SUGARS:
Refined sugars cause spikes in blood sugars levels, only to leave them crashing hours (or minutes) later. This rapid spike and then crash can lead to major feelings of anxiety! It’s also important to note that refined sugars are stripped of all their nutrients but still loaded with calories, which causes tons of confusion for the body. Not only this, most refined sugars (white sugar, brown sugar, icing sugar, etc.) are GMO, unless classified as organic, which can cause a whole host of other issues in the body, eventually leading to further worsening anxiety.
- CAFFEINE:
This one might be to swallow because so many of us love our morning caffeine fix – but I had to say it! Caffeine can be highly anxiety triggering as it stimulates the “Fight or Flight” response within the body (2). This causes adrenaline & cortisol (the stress hormones) to spike. Too much caffeine can also trigger one to feel nervousness, jittery-ness, and restlessness – all of which are also common with anxiety. This can be confusing to an anxious person, whose brain might perceive these physiological responses to the caffeine as the start of a panic attack, which can go on to further trigger anxiety (despite not actually having a panic attack). However, in some cases these physiological responses can actually induce panic attacks (3). - FAST FOODS:
Whether it be takeout from a fast food restaurant, or packaged foods like chips, cookies, or cheap crackers – because of their poor quality ingredients and artificial additives (ex. MSG & food dyes), these sorts of foods can definitely be a trigger for anxiety. Not only this, on an energetic level, most of these foods are not prepared with love, care, and good intention, like homemade foods are. The “stress” and capitalistic “machine like nature” in which a lot of these foods are prepared with can trigger anxiety as well, when ingested on a very regular basis. I know it might sound crazy, but eating food made with love and good energy is SO important when considering ones diet and the relation it has to their anxiety levels! - CONVENTIONAL MEAT & DAIRY:
Mainstream meat & dairy contain all sorts of hormones & antibiotics that can trigger anxiety within humans when consumed. Not only this, when animals are raised in horrible conditions where they feel stressed out and isolated most of their lives (such as those found in CAFOs), humans, when consuming the flesh & milk of these animals can take on the stress they were experiencing much of their lives.This is because these animals bodies were pumping with cortisol, adrenaline, synthetic hormones, antibiotics, etc. – the exact things anxious people (or anyone for that matter) do not want to be adding to their bodies!
So there you have it, 5 things you might be consuming everyday that can trigger your anxiety! Want to know what you can do about it? Click the black box on the bottom right tab of this page to book a COMPLIMENTARY 15 minute call with me to learn how the “Anxiety Reduction Protocol” might be able to support you in feeling less anxious and better in your body than ever before <3
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