Restlessness, being tensed at all times, rising heart rate, hyperventilation, trembling and sweating are the common symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety is a psychological condition in which a person experiences fear or worry that can become worse through time. Anxiety comes in various forms. It could be specific phobias, panic disorder, agoraphobia, substance-induced anxiety and many more. A person can have one or many of these anxiety disorders, as claimed by the Mayo Clinic.
Causes of Anxiety
What are the causes of anxiety? Anxiety can be linked to existing or underlying medical conditions this is why if a person is suffering from anxiety it is important to consult with a physician to assess its true cause. Asthma, diabetes, heart disease and thyroid disorders are among the medical conditions linked with anxiety. In addition to these, researchers also found a direct connection between alcohol as well as coffee intake to this psychological condition.
There are instances in which the medications that you are using could be causing your anxiety. Among the drugs that could lead to anxiety attacks are asthma medications, decongestants, benzodiazepines, and thyroid treatments. Supplements developed to help lose weight can also trigger the condition. Supplements containing guarana, green tea extracts and ephedra are believed to be associated with anxiety attacks.
Manage Anxiety Symptoms
The question now is how do we treat or manage anxiety symptoms. Among the natural treatments are increasing your active hours and sleeping time as stress and fatigue add up to the symptoms. Easing up on your daily alcohol and caffeine intake can also do the trick. Experts also recommend popping in chocolates, teas and headache drugs from time to time.
Recently, there is another method that shows promise when it comes to addressing your anxiety symptoms. Have you heard of the keto diet? This is one of the popular weight loss diet methods nowadays. Let’s have a look at how the keto diet and anxiety are connected or linked with each other. Before we proceed with assessing the connection of keto diet and anxiety, it is best to first have a background on the famous keto or ketogenic diet and discuss how this one works.
An Overview of the Ketogenic Diet
A weight loss diet popularized by a lot of celebrities from around the world, the ketogenic diet works around the concept of our body’s metabolic state referred to by many people as ketosis. The idea behind this is we put ourselves to the state of ketosis. Instead of burning glucose to convert to energy, it will turn to the fat deposits, turn them to ketones and become the energy source.
But how do we turn our body into ketosis as normally it is used to glucose as its energy source? This is where the ketogenic diet comes in. This diet lessens your carbohydrate intake and at the same time increases your healthy fat intake. By doing this, your glucose deposits in the body will be lessened, triggering your body to get into ketosis.
Is keto diet and anxiety truly linked with each other? Can the keto diet and anxiety really work hand in hand? These are the questions that may be running through your mind right now. To have a clearer understanding of their connection, here are some of the facts proving the link between keto diet and anxiety.
One research that was conducted to study the relations between keto diet and anxiety was published in 2016 by the University of South Florida in Tampa. The study claimed that the anxious behavior of animal subject that received supplement was reduced. This resulted to the researchers’ conclusion that turning the human body to ketosis will eliminate the anxiety symptoms.
Studies About Keto and Anxiety
In support to the first study, one research was featured in the 2009 issue of Epilepsy & Behavior and found that rats with normal diet exhibit more anxiety symptoms than those that were given low-calorie keto diet. This clinical study was specifically conducted to assess how keto diet and anxiety in young female patients diagnosed with Rett syndrome can work hand in hand.
Looking for more scientific proof on the link about keto diet and anxiety? A clinical study involving mice found that the subjects that have received a keto diet while still in utero have fewer chances of showing depression as well as anxiety symptoms. In addition to these, the mice also had increased physical activity after birth, which is important to improve their physical and mental health.
Mood Stabilization
Mood swings and panic attacks are common among patients with anxiety. This is where the direct link between the keto diet and anxiety comes in. According to experts, once we reached ketosis, the way our brain cells function change. One of the impacts of ketosis is the decrease in the intracellular sodium concentrations in our cognitive system which is an important sign of effective mood stabilization.
Depression
How about depression? Women’s health expert and physician Jennifer Wider argued that our diet affects our overall mood. According to her, keto diet, specifically can affect the way our body battles depression. So, there is your link between keto diet and anxiety as there are times that anxiety results to depression.
Last proof of the connection between keto diet and anxiety is that as mentioned, this diet is a weight loss method. And we know, that once we start losing weight, given that it is our fitness goal, then our emotions and sleep will be better. Making sure that our emotions and moods are well managed is important as they will alleviate not just the occurrence of anxiety but also prevent the development of other medical conditions that are linked with anxiety.
My Personal Take on Keto Diet and Anxiety
Since there are overwhelming clinical studies proving the link between keto diet and anxiety, I agree that the keto diet is important to help alleviate anxiety symptoms. Just a reminder from my end, although keto diet helps, it is still important to first consult with your physician before proceeding with this method as there could be possible side effects that you should be aware of.