One doctor has created a diet specifically for people with anxiety
A doctor says our gut might be messing with our mental health. Dr Uma Naidoo, a teacher at Harvard Medical School, has revealed three steps to help anxiety-prone people eat right and improve their mental health.
Speaking to Zoe’s Science and Nutrition podcast experts, Dr Naidoo said: “It may not be that you have a diagnosis but you’re feeling this way. Food is one of the things that can help you along with breathwork, exercise and other things, even sunlight.”
Her technique is called SAW – or Swap, Add, and Walk. The doctor recommended these simple steps can sort out your gut and get your headspace back on track.
To kick off, she suggests one food swap from your usual diet. The doctor advised: “Maybe you’re not drinking enough water…Maybe you started eating ice cream every night during the pandemic, can you create a recipe for ice cream made from fruit and swap that out or start to eat less of it.”
The professor has urged people to change their diets by adding an array of colourful veggies and emphasised the benefits they bring. She commented to say: “Peppers, lettuces, greens, whatever it is you might like. They’re low calorie and can be added into your meals to help you feel full but also give your body nutrients, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory substances, that your body and brain need.”
Finally, although the last letter stands for walk, the expert clarified that any physical activity will do. She said: “Someone who’s anxious may not even want to take a walk so getting them to take a walk to go buy the newspaper, get a cup of coffee, walk their dog, is a way to get them moving and move from that almost paralysed state.”
In addition to these diet and exercise tips, Dr Naidoo advised those suffering from anxiety to avoid overly restrictive eating regimes. Instead, she suggests embracing exercise as a way to curb anxiety.
She further elaborated: “Food is very primitive, very primary to who we are as humans and thoughts like ‘I can’t eat this’ really drive anxiety.” Dr Naidoo also advised paying close attention to what’s causing dietary-related anxiety.
This is whether it’s the amount being consumed, a lack of hydration, or nutritional imbalance. She highlighted a common error: “If you’re feeling anxious about the plan, check in with what’s driving that anxiety.
“Is it the quantity of food? Maybe you’re not drinking enough water? Maybe you have too much or too little food. A common mistake…they might be eating something they’ve heard and read is healthy but the food industry is not necessarily our friend.”
Dr Naidoo has urged people to delve into their own research about their diet foods rather than presuming they’ve opted for a healthy choice. She used the example of yoghurts and fruits, stating that while whole fruit and plain yoghurt are both highly nutritious on their own or combined, fruit-flavoured yoghurt often packs in a lot of added sugar and isn’t particularly good for you.
