Foods to Relieve Anxiety

Updated 1/8/2025

It’s not all in your head, Sis. If you’ve been around here very long, you know that I’m all about the “food-as-medicine” line of thinking. I strongly believe that in most cases, when we give our body a wide variety of good, healthy, ingredients, it knows just how to put them to use for its own highly specific needs. In other words, the food we eat can either contribute to disease and dysfunction, or it can promote healing, prevent disease and anxiety. A lot of people are struggling with stress and anxiety, along with the myriad of other unpleasant symptoms that go along with them. I thought I’d write about some ways to help your body help its self by eating foods to relieve anxiety.

**This blog uses affiliate links. If you purchase anything through one of these links, at no cost to you, I may earn a small commission.*

*I am not a medical provider or practitioner. This is not meant to be medical advice.

What You Need to Know

Your gut health. It’s important in relieving anxiety. People with anxiety typically have high levels of inflammation in their body. 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut, so when it’s inflamed the production of serotonin can be obstructed. Less serotonin will actually increase your feelings of stress. Changing the way you eat can also change the rate of glucose metabolism in the brain, to create more available GABA(the “happy” hormone). GABA is a neurotransmitter that acts as a mood stabilizer among other things.

More happy hormones and less stress and anxiety just by changing the way you eat? What have you got to lose?

Foods to Eliminate if you Struggle with Anxiety

Now, obviously you don’t need to eliminate these for all eternity, but for the sake of giving this a real go, you need to eliminate “inflammatory” foods for 4-6 weeks to notice a difference in your stress and anxiety. For example all processed and fast food. If your meals are coming in a package, chances are good that they will cause an inflammatory response in your body. Also- too much alcohol causes inflammation, as well as white sugar and refined carbohydrates (most of the typical bread, pasta etc that you find en masse in American grocery stores). The Regular dairy found in the US is inflammatory.

NOTE: If you are used to regularly consuming mostly the foods above, you may feel ill with almost flu like symptoms when you cut these out of your diet completely. Obviously if you are sick, contact your doctor, but realize that what some have deemed “keto flu” is a real and normal part of healing your body. It’s temporary (a few days) and the way you feel when it subsides is 100% worth it!

Image from Perricone MD

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Pile ’em on because they make your brain happy! Found in fatty fish like wild salmon, flaxseed, walnuts, and chia seeds. Your brain NEEDS energy and very specific nutrient requirements. It needs fat from dietary sources to function properly. Put simply- if you aren’t getting enough good fats, your brain will suffer.

Antioxidants

All the fresh fruits and vegetables! Pile those veggies high and get a large variety. Antioxidants help calm your mood by protecting your brain from oxidative stress. Studies (and my own personal experience) also show that increasing your zinc can have a calming effect. Cashews are a good source of zinc, but I added this in supplement form to my diet and its been very helpful.

Magnesium

Increasing your magnesium intake is very calming for the brain. Up to 80% of Americans are deficient in magnesium! Without enough of this important nutrient in your body it reduces the levels of serotonin (again!). Magnesium can actually prevent the entrance of stress hormones into the brain! You can take magnesium in supplement form and you can get magnesium in things like eggs, spinach, Swiss chard, legumes and avocado.

Protein

Our central nervous system needs the amino acids in protein to function well. Our brain needs protein to make neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. Our glucose levels are deeply connected to our ability to regulate our emotions. If you are a person struggling with anxiety- you need to also check your blood sugar levels. Protein helps stabilize our blood sugar. Minimally processed grass fed meats, fish, chicken, turkey, etc

Breaking it Down

If you would like ideas about what this type of eating looks like in real life, let me know in the comments and I’ll do a post showing you what it looks like in our home with daily recipes.

If you look at the foods that I’ve listed as inflammatory as well as the ones that are listed as inflammatory- the closest popular “diets” on the market (in their TRUE forms) that fit these protocols are the Mediterranean Diet and the Paleo diet, with a true Keto diet probably falling in there somewhere as well. All three diets are anti-inflammatory so choose the one that best fits your needs and the needs of your family. We more closely follow somewhere between a Paleo and Mediterranean diet (leaning more Mediterranean since our recent move) as this just suits everyones tastes and needs in my family.

Many of these diets have been misconstrued over the years, so you’ll find links to the original diets and the science behind them below.

What you put into your body truly matters. If you struggle with anxiety (or you just want to get healthy!) let your diet be a part of your traditional therapy and self care.

I hope that this information about foods that relieve anxiety has been helpful and encouraging for you. It’s always a good thing to check in with yourself and listen to your feelings. LISTEN to them, but you don’t have to be LED and CONTROLLED by them. And if you can’t sort it out on your own and get your head above water, never hesitate to seek help from a professional. And speaking of professionals- be prepared to stick with it until you find one who is a good fit for you- one that is truly knowledgable, helpful and able to give you actionable steps to help- you- help- yourself. You are 100% worth the effort.

If you would like ideas about what this type of eating looks like in real life, let me know in the comments and I’ll do a post showing you what it looks like in our home with daily recipes.

Where to Find Out More

All About The Mediterranean Diet– a good resource to learn about the Mediterranean Diet.

All About the Paleo Diet– The TRUE Paleo diet.

Read All About the Keto Diet– HIGHLY interesting with loads of jumping off points.

Also check out The Whole 30 Diet for combating Inflammation.

Ways to Deal and Combat Anxiety– and how to know when to seek a professional.