Just a few weeks ago we mentioned that over the course of the last few years we did a HUGE overhaul on our diet – it wasn’t always something that was important to us and it definitely wasn’t obvious to us the role that diet played in our health.
But we have a very close friend to thank for that ;)
David deployed to Iraq several years ago and upon returning, dealt with some fairly difficult problems with anxiety and post traumatic stress following his deployment. After a year or two of regular doctor visits and counseling, and lots of psychiatric medications, he realized that the treatment he was undergoing was doing him more harm than good.
There is SO much we can do with diet and lifestyle and most of it is safer and more effective than loading up on medications.
The only difference? It takes daily discipline and willpower to do a complete overhaul OF your diet and combined with the stress of wanting to pop a pill but knowing that it’s not going to help, it can be very hard.
Bad habits are hard to break – and even harder when you have busy lives, kids, schedules, and temptations around you.
A great support system is needed… and that is what we (as a family) tried to do for him. Not only did we do a great deal of self research, we looked at our personal shopping habits when it came to food, and made some huge changes.
Although those changes were (and still are) ridiculed by some who thought we were doing it because we were better, or… we are naive and didn’t know any better – we have also had a fair share of friends mention that they think the fact that we don’t buy kids cereal and Easter Candy makes our kids “deprived” – which couldn’t be more from the truth – ask my kids, they’ll be honest in their responses to you and my kids will tell you exactly what they think.
The main thing? Our changes helped him get better, and 3 years later he is in a different place in terms of his personal health. In fact, we all are.
We are thankful for that ONE friend that we had that took it upon herself to share her thoughts, and ideas with us – because although it may have been an annoyance at first, we are truly thankful that this one particular person could see past the opinions and thoughts and disparaging comments thrown by others … she really did make a difference and is one of the main reasons we took action.
Here are some of the ways we were able to help alleviate the issue of anxiety through diet and lifestyle.
#1 – Cut Out Sugar
The standard American diet is loaded with sugar. Everywhere you look – it’s in our packaged food, Starbucks drinks, it’s even in the “so called healthy” diet and meal replacement drinks.
When your body consumes sugar, your body takes a roller coaster ride. On the way down, you can feel anxious – when your sugar level crashes, your body responds through stress: stress hormones tell the liver to make MORE blood sugar to keep you alive and awake.
On the positive: you DO stay awake – for a short period of time.
The bad part? You suffer from a form of anxiety.
Therefore … our main goal was to control the amount of sugar, and therefore help alleviate that stressful feeling of anxiety from over-indulging in sugary items. We avoided sugar, refined carbs – instead, kept snacks handy such as Raw Organic Almonds, and Hard Boiled Eggs. We also incorporated more Coconut Oil into our diet (including taking a spoon of Coconut Oil 2-3 times a day).
We can’t cut it completely (as Sugar is naturally in fruits/veggies – but that type of sugar is far different than the added sugars in processed items).. but we cut back quite a bit.
#2 – NO MORE Caffeine
It wasn’t too hard for us to make this transition – as we never had soda in the house at all anyways (nor is it a purchase for us – and hasn’t been for years).
Caffeine is a stimulant – it initiates a stress response immediately between you and your nervous system. But going off it altogether is going to give you withdrawal symptoms too. We got rid of caffeine in all forms – which included Coffee, Iced Tea, Tea, and we stick with Water with Essential Oils, and Raw Milk.
#3 – Getting Rest
One of the biggest problems David had with his anxiety was his inability to sleep properly through the night. David suffers from sleep apnea and has since he returned – getting tested and receiving a machine helped. But it wasn’t our entire solution.
Cutting back on electronic devices a few hours before bed, turning the phone OFF at night, and incorporating Essential Oils into his sleep routine worked wonderfully for a great night’s rest. Combined with reducing sugar, and eliminating caffeine altogether, it helped him alleviate the issues he had with falling asleep. He also uses a little Lavender Essential Oil in his mask which helps him, too.
#4 – Focused on Better Gut Health
We mentioned the role between FOOD and your Gut a few weeks ago – at length! You may have seen many articles pop up online about gut health and your food, too – it’s a popular subject that needs more attention than what it has been getting.
FOOD irritates the gut – and right now, most of the food you buy in grocery stores is processed (80-85%).. our goal was to stay OUT of the grocery stores, and go Organic for our food choices. Putting on blinders and ignoring sales ads helps dramatically too.
What irritates the gut? Food laden in pesticide does not help establish good healthy gut bacteria. And for some, gluten may be to blame – but that’s not so much the case with everyone. Although that might be true for some, here in the U.S. wheat is heavily drenched in pesticides RIGHT before harvest. Those pesticides destroy your good gut flora – and contribute to difficulty digesting not only wheat but also other foods.
Obviously this does not apply for everyone – Celiacs will tell you that they really struggle. But I think for the majority of the populous of people, it’s not so much the gluten but what has been done to the wheat.
It’s important to pay the additional for organic food, avoiding the Dirty Dozen if you can’t afford organic produce across the board, and monitoring your medication intake (as antibiotics can destroy your gut bacteria too).
By incorporating Raw Milk into our diet, we helped put back what prescriptions took out, and not only has digestion improved, his skin has cleared up and he feels great. Focus on food that soothe the gut, like Bone Broth, Sweet Potatoes, regular Potatoes (Organic), and fermented foods (Kombucha is a regular purchase for us at Costco).
Over time, he removed himself from one prescription at a time.. combined with an overhaul on our food purchases, we were able to re-establish better gut health, which has helped his anxiety more than we could have ever imagined.
#5 – Magnesium Supplements
Magnesium Supplements are critical – most of us are deficient in magnesium due in part to our soil being deficient in magnesium.
The pesticide being used on our food (Corn, Soy, Wheat, Cotton, etc.) – which deplete the soil of the minerals required for not only good soil health but also for our GOOD gut bacteria.
Here are some other reasons we are deficient in magnesium:
- We are deficient in magnesium because we are consuming too much sugar (for every molecule of sugar we consume, we nee 54 molecules of magnesium to process it..)
- We are stressed – constantly, from Money issues to lifestyle problems, even health problems. We deal with that stress daily and it drains us. Stress hormone production requires a high level of magnesium, and when we stress it depletes our magnesium stores.
- Lastly, we are deficient because a fair amount of pharmaceutical drugs (and contraceptives) deplete our magnesium stores – as well as caffeine. Not to mention that the fluoride in your toothpaste competes for absorption with magnesium too.
- Those processed foods that are SO cheap in store actually lacking magnesium because they have been stripped – and these foods that ARE processed steal magnesium in your body in order to be metabolized. Sugar is the devil in this case.
So what do you do? Not only is it important to take a supplement (which is what he did and still does)… you overhaul your eating habits to foods that are nutrient dense, including Organic produce (invest in a CSA), try incorporating Raw Milk, grow your own produce (which can vary by person), and avoid eating processed foods and shopping in stores.
(Believe it or not it’s possible to feed your family without making regular trips to a store).
A magnesium deficiency can lead to constipation, anxiety, muscle cramps, anger, high blood pressure, fatigue, headaches, and even more. (Src) Considering that most people experience one or more of those symptoms, I think we’re fairly safe to say that it could possibly be due to a magnesium deficiency.
#6 – Exercise
For my husband, exercise was a rather huge part of him getting better. Although he exercised before, he was not doing it on a regular basis – he’d be home late from work some days (and too tired..) – other days, he would just not feel like doing much. Then on some days he would get up and start early in the morning and it would help him through the day, but he would be unbelievably tired once he hit the door coming in the house at night.
I can’t even tell you how many times he’d sit and watch a show with the kids and his eyes would slowly, be, closing…. ;)
After starting a more regular regimen of working out and involving ALL of us (LONG family walks at night – or, going to the park to play ball with the kids), he started to find more energy, feel better about himself and have a more positive outlook. In a way, it seemed like the exercise was more beneficial than the medication he was previously on.
Even if he didn’t necessarily feel like working out, he did it anyways, and in the end, always felt thankful he had forced himself.
#7 – Essential Oils
I won’t and can’t go into details on specific oils and brands, but we did make an investment several years ago into Essential Oils themselves. While I was the one who first jumped in head first, he was the skeptic…
Over time, and through several different biosurveys of his body (which we take bi-monthly), these bio-surveys helped us to find supplements and Essential Oils that his body would need based on his given condition of his body at that point in time.
Slowly over time, and through trying out several to see what oils and combinations worked the best for him, he found several he could rely on that would help augment his feelings, and the environment around him. Diffusing these oils at work in a diffuser in his office, using them in his car through the use of a car diffuser, and using some topically and in his water that he drinks daily he found them to be very helpful and essential components of his mood.
In the End
Wait – we’re not done! These things and overhauls we did are NOT done. They are continuous. They take daily effort. It hasn’t been easy and it will continue to be hard – we are busy just like everyone else is.. we have kids, schedules, commitments, and the like. But the biggest thing that we have learned is that nothing changes about YOUR health until YOU start making the efforts on your own.
Nobody else is responsible for your well being but yourself – not your spouse, kids, or even parents. To assume that others have your best interest in mind will put you far behind the power curve – you have to do your own research, make your own changes, and sometimes even step out of the box to find the solution to your own healthcare.