Products that shake the emotional state more than others, contributing to anxiety and/or depressive disorder. Nutritionist has compiled a detailed guide to nutrition during the war, which will help maintain mental health and balance.
Alcohol
Promotes an increase in the level of cortisol (stress hormone) in the body, due to which the feeling of anxiety and worry increases.
Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid this effect of alcohol on the body, except to refuse its consumption. I would like to note that the frequency and dose play a role: the larger the portions of alcohol and the more regular the consumption, the more pronounced the anxiety effect.
Coffee, matcha, black and green tea, cocoa, dark chocolate, and energy drinks also greatly affect the level of anxiety. Caffeine increases cortisol, which stimulates anxiety.
If you stick to safe doses of caffeine (300-400 mg/day), the risk of negative effects on the body, including the level of anxiety, is low. Want more drinks? Add caffeine-free: decaf, herbal teas, water.
How much caffeine in… (figures are approximate):
portions of Americano, Robusta (170 ml) — 160 mg;
portions of Americano, Arabica (170 ml) — 80 mg;
cans of energy (240 ml) — 80 mg;
a cup of matcha tea (170 ml) — 70 mg;
a cup of black packaged tea (240 ml) — 50 mg;
a cup of green tea (240 ml) — 30 mg;
servings of cocoa prepared from 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder without bitters – 15 mg;
10 g of dark chocolate (56%) — 20 mg;
portions of decaf (170 ml) — about 3-5 mg.
Calculate the forces.
Aspartame sweetener
Suppresses the formation of serotonin (hormone of happiness). This is not the only disadvantage of aspartame, by the way. It also contributes to the depletion of gastrointestinal microbiota, which can lead to endocrine disorders and weight gain.
How to avoid harm?
Do not consume or rarely consume when you really want that drink with aspartame (it is most often found in the composition of “diet” carbonated drinks).
Minimize products in the diet that are sources of trans fats (fast food, industrial baked goods): do not consume them every day, do not rely on them as the basis of the diet, open and taste whole foods.
Trans fats and fast food
There is a hypothesis that trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable fats, “cooking fat”, margarine, etc.) potentiate the reuptake of serotonin in the human brain, which means that they contribute to anxiety and depressive disorders.
Added sugar and refined foods (white rice, oatmeal, white bread) are also harmful.
In the case of abuse of these products, their inharmonious consumption, there are contrasting changes in the level of glucose and insulin in the blood, and then dopamine, which can be felt as a state of exhaustion, apathy, anxiety or even aggression.
Moreover, sugar and sweets increase anxiety only when a person consumes them systematically and inharmoniously. This means: he does not combine proteins, fats, complex carbohydrates, fiber and dessert on one plate, but every day, for example, he eats cereal with dried fruit for breakfast or chooses cakes for a snack.
