Therapeutic Nutrition for Stress & Anxiety

Because we all need a little boost right now…

Keep your Nutrition Consistent

If you have been on a meal plan, or follow your own guidelines, stick with it. If you don’t have one yet, now is the perfect time to create a healthy and sustainable (and hopefully enjoyable!) structure around food. Your body and mind NEED consistency right now. We have been given the gift of being able to focus on health and home with everything going on with the pandemic. It’s a great time to start consistent habits and focus on cooking real food, at home, on a schedule. If you have been waiting for the right time to start changing your food habits, this is it. But now is not the time for crash diets, so eat up! Fill up on healthy foods, eat 3-6 balanced meals per day. If you just laughed at me saying 6 meals per day, I’m serious. we know who we are hard gainers, keep at it! Stay nourished.

Increase your Carbohydrate Consumption

If you’re already high fat, low carb and its working for you, stick with it. But make sure it is truly working for you. Otherwise, our needs for healthy carbohydrates, not sugar, go up when we are doing high intensity training (cross-fitters, I’m looking at you!), or are in periods of stress. Including additional carbohydrates like oats, sweet potatoes, fruit, and rice can reduce the amount of cortisol we are producing and help us manage stress better.

Add in Mood Boosting Foods

L-theanine is a precursor to GABA (the neurotransmitter that makes us feel safe and content). Eating foods high in L-theanine can help naturally increase our levels of GABA. We can also boost our serotonin, our happy hormone) to feel more joyful and at peace. Foods that help include: almonds, halibut, beef liver, oats, walnuts, lentils, broccoli, brown rice, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, game meats, poultry, cashews, and sunflower seeds.

Add in Adaptogenic Herbs and Supplements

Reishi mushrooms, astragalus, licorice root, ashwaghanda, tulsi or holy basil, lemon balm, and ginseng.