What to Eat When You’re Anxious

Add these foods scientifically proven to lower anxiety into your diet.

According to the ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America), the most common—and most highly treatable—mental illnesses in the United States are anxiety disorders, affecting 18 percent of the population.

Anxiety, in some form or another it seems, affects us all—some of us far more than others. But even if you may not wrestle with it on a day-to-day basis, when anxiety hits, it affects not only your mind, but your body as well. That said, what we put into the body can also have a positive (or negative) impact on our mind.

In an article for mindbodygreen.com, registered dietitian Kim Suddeath rounded up 9 foods that can help lower anxiety—foods you should think about keeping on-hand in your pantry or fridge. According to Suddeath and a study by the US National Library of Medicine, foods with probiotics are great for lowering anxiety levels. Fermented foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, and pickles are great sources of probiotics. Salmon, it turns out, is also an anxiety-fighting food. We already love salmon for its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Did you know those same omega-3s are not only good for your body, but for your brain, too, and have been known to lower anxiety and inflammation? Other anxiety-fighting foods Suddeath identifies include asparagus, beans and pumpkin seeds.

So, next time you find yourself overly anxious, consider reaching for one of the items on this list, such as a handful of cashews, or cook asparagus for a dinner side (to salmon, perhaps?), and let your food heal you. Take that, anxiety.

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