For the urban woman, anxiety is one of the greatest issue. Along with anxiety comes fear which if prolonged leads to depression. Women facing anxiety issues usually feel that it is end of the world. Unless they take medical help or if someone close does not come to rescue, they resign to fate and to suffer. Today we shall discuss the reasons for anxiety and a simple food solution.
Significance of Vitamin B complex
B complex are a series of Vitamin B like B1, B2, B12 and so on which are most crucial for the functioning of the body. Here are some process where Vitamin B and their variants are directly responsible.
- Neurological functions in both brain and nervous system
- Depression, cognitive decline, anxiety and stress
- Release energy from carbs and fats at cellular level
- Breaking down of amino acids
- Synthesis of lipids
Various definitions
Anxiety comes from the latin word Angere or “to strangle”. Your throat starts to dry up, you get the chocking feeling and dizziness. You might even pass out in extreme situations. Anxiety also is associated with problems without a solution. While anxiety usually is dealing with present issues, when you begin with future issues, it becomes worry.
Our human body has evolved to take care of short term stress, like a leopard chasing. This temporary threat is taken care by the sympathetic nervous system which takes priority for resources to generate a fight or flight response. Our body acts accordingly. So in case the mind or sympathetic nervous system decides flight, we start to run. In anticipation the brain automatically releases adrenalin in the body, increases breathing and heart rate and makes available extra glucose to help us to sprint away from the leopard.
Modern day woman might not be chased by the leopard, but your body has been designed to take care of one or two stressful situations in a day. Repeated stress due to modern lifestyle and urban living puts us under a situation of chronic stress.
Or worse, you may start worrying about harmless situations and that might trigger a stress response in the body. Such a situation is also chronic stress.
If stress is countered by sympathetic nervous system, once the threat goes away or is taken care of, it is the para sympathetic nervous system which is supposed to cool your body down. But this process requires resources which your body might not have. Food or nutrition helps us to cope with stress better. For example magnesium helps counter anxiety. If you are magnesium deficient, then your are in trouble. Green veggies, nuts and eggs are good sources of magnesium. But there is another reason for magnesium deficiency. It is also connected to Vitamin B or B1 deficency.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Vitamin B1 is the most common water soluble vitamin. It is found in literally every food source and easily available. But it is also one of the most critical vitamin for neurological functions. It is also essential for generating energy inside cells by mitochondria. But how can the most common vitamin become deficient in the body?
That is because of excessive carbs consumption. Here is what is happening.
Carbs and sugar converts to glucose, but cells need Vitamin B1 for converting glucose to ATP at cellular level. This depletes Vitamin B1 to the level where it becomes deficient. Refined carbs and refined sugars increase the effect multifold.
Taking about carbs, let us first clear the debate as to whether milk is good or not. For people those who are leading a sedentary lifestyle, better avoid milk in any form. The safest form of milk is that taken from a grass fed cow. But today except for a few states in India it is almost impossible to get this kind of milk. Any other milk is pure and refined carb will lead to a lot of problems in your diet, even if taken in small quantities.
Comfort food high in sugar similarly deplete Vitamin B1. They also feed the wrong bacteria in the gut leading to a further deficiency of B1. This make the bacteria thrive and they demand more B1.
Dehydration by consuming alcohol also leads to depletion of Vitamin B1. Alcohol causes a hormonal imbalance in the kidneys which results in the kidneys releasing a lot of water as urine. This results in dehydration. Loss of water also results in passing away of crucial Vitamin B1.
The long term fix
Go for a low carb and low sugar diet. That means giving up on all the processed food and sugary foods. No packed foods also. Finally quit the peg if you are facing anxiety issues. The peg gives you temporary relief but wrecks your brain forever.
The short term fix – nutritional yeast
Search for unfortified nutritional yeast. If you are feeling anxious, just take a spoon full of this powder. You will get immediate relief. Otherwise the best time is to eat before sleeping. It helps you to calm down and get a good sleep.
Nutritional yeast helps with stress management.
It reduces anxiety, panic, fear, nightmares thereby enhancing sleep. It improves breathing, reduces confusion and reduces brain fog.
It promotes hunger since now the cells are ready to process more glucose.
Most important for all the ladies out there, it also promotes healthy hair.