Medically, anxiety is an unpleasant sensation that results from emotional disturbance. This emotional disturbance can affect the physical realm leading to symptoms similar to a stress or fear response, which can include heart palpitations, sweating and increased alertness. Stabbing or throbbing pains in the chest, as well as a perceived constriction of the chest can result in, or be accompanied by hyperventilation. Anxiety is actually a n important human response to a perceived stress, and feelings of anxiety are normal during the course of daily living. However, some people appear to be highly sensitive to anxiety feelings and this can cause problems because their response is more exaggerated compared to a normal anxiety response. Those who suffer from uncontrolled anxiety often are not aware of the triggers that initiate their emotional response and this idiopathic nature makes avoiding such triggers difficult. However, if known situations or circumstances result in anxiety, they should be avoided where possible.
Nutritionally there are a number of strategies to help cope with anxiety. One of the most common trigger foods can be caffeine. Caffeine is a double edged sword when it comes to anxiety because in some individuals it can be a cause of anxiety, whilst in others, caffeine can be beneficial. This likely depends on the sensitivity of the individual, the history of caffeine intake as well as the source of the caffeine. Tea and coffee can give quite different emotional and physical responses because they are compositionally quite different although they both contain caffeine. Coffee tends to increase anxiety because of the high caffeine intake, but tea also contains the amino acid L-theanine, and this may antagonise the effects of caffeine by modulating alpha waves in the brain. This explains the calming effect of tea and those with anxiety that wish to experiment can either try drinking tea or take the amino acid L-theanine in order to possibly take advantage of this effect. Chocolate may also be a calming food because of the presence of phenylethylamine.
Alcohol can also be problematic to those with anxiety. While alcohol can actually cause a relaxing effect when drunk, the after effects of alcohol can increase anxiety and depression, particularly those who are sensitive to these feelings. Therefore alcohol avoidance may benefit those who suffer from anxiety, although this does depend on the individual. Certainly heavy drinking is detrimental to the emotional state and if alcohol is consumed it should be moderated and these effects monitored to identify if alcohol is a trigger for anxiety. Other triggers for anxiety can include food allergies, and again these obviously depend on the individual. An elimination diet, whereby foods are eliminated until possible allergens are identified can be successful at treating anxiety if an allergy exist. Processed foods containing sugar and other sweeteners may also detrimentally affect the blood sugar homeostasis of the individual, and this may be another trigger for anxiety, and such foods should not be part of the diet.
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