When we’re stressed, we often choose the convenient foods to fit our schedule. However, these foods usually contain ingredients that worsen your stress levels.
Highly processed foods affect your body in various ways that all lead to INFLAMMATION. Inflammation is the number one cause of MENTAL ILLNESS so it’s so important to minimize it. I recommend staying away from these 9 worst foods for anxiety:
☕️ CAFFEINE. After about two cups, caffeine can wreak havoc on your adrenal glands, causing inflammation.
🥓 PROCESSED MEATS. The preservatives in these meats (such as nitrates and sulfites) disrupt gut health and have been linked to mood shifts.
🍞 REFINED CARBS. These processed carbs are stripped of fiber, the part that usually slows digestion and stops inflammatory blood sugar spikes.
🥛 BREAKFAST CEREAL. It’s almost always full of sugar and refined carbs and will spike your blood sugar, leaving you on an emotional rollercoaster for the rest of the day.
🍭 SUGAR. Sugar is hidden in many everyday foods and causes an imbalance in the gut microbiome by killing the good bacteria. This leads to neuroinflammation.
🌽 PROCESSED VEG OILS. These are very high in omega-6 fats, which are inflammatory.
🍻 ALCOHOL. Even without the sugar in many alcoholic beverages, alcohol is well known to disrupt the gut lining and be linked to depression.
🍪 ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS. These actually cause a similar inflammatory impact on the gut and insulin levels as normal sugar.
🥤 SODA. Besides for the sugar, dark sodas contain phosphoric acid, which competes with magnesium absorption, an essential nutrient for mental health.
To read the full @eatthisnotthat article, swipe up on the link in my stories! For more food-mood science and the science-backed foods to eat and avoid for mental health, check out my book, THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON FOOD, available at the link in bio!
#brainfoodlove#thisisyourbrainonfood#NutritionalPsychiatry#DrUma#happyguthappymind
