Wellness and Worry

Do any of you ever struggle with worrying? I know I certainly do at times! Although there are many ways of working through that struggle, I have found recently that the food I eat affects how I handle worrisome thoughts. I know that sounds really weird right?!! Yet it is very true.

As part of a treatment plan for a medical condition I have, my doctor encouraged me to cut out wheat, dairy, and sugar, which I begrudgingly did at first. Not fun, but I did it. She also told me that I was hypoglycemic, which was news to me! If you don't know what hypoglycemia is, it means that blood sugar can dip too low throughout the day. To combat this, it is important to eat every couple of hours, making sure to get a good combo of healthy protein, fat, and veggies at each snack.

The more I ate this way, carefully following all my doctor's instructions, I realized I was able to think more clearly than I had in years. As a result, when I faced a temptation to worry about something, I was able to clearly identify what was causing my worry, and whether it was something I even needed to be concerned about. Additionally, I could clearly remember things I had committed to memory to help relieve worrisome thoughts; things like Scripture verses, proverbs, or quotes. I could think pretty clearly to also pray at the time of worry - these were all things that I struggled to remember to do previous to drastically changing my eating habits.

It was quite the revelation that what I was eating and the timing of meals throughout my day could have such a profound effect on spiritual and mental clarity. As I was realizing and reflecting on these things that had changed in me, I came across an article that affirmed the things I was seeing (Alternative Approaches to Dealing with Anxiety). It discussed (among other options) how diet can affect anxiety, and how cutting out refined carbs and sugar, preservatives, and artificial colorings and flavors can relieve anxiety. The author even mentioned how hyper- or hypoglycemia can increase anxiety in us!

So why do I bring this all up? If worry is a stressor for you, the way you eat may be a way to help relieve some of what you feel! You might just be amazed how simple changes can have complex and long term benefits for your health.