Anxiety, depression, and diet

[Maggie913]

I have bouts of anxiety and depression.  I heard that gluten can be a link to causing these, as well as excess sugar in the diet.  Is this true?  I eat a lot of sugars, breads, and pastas and am considering a change in diet to help.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I don't believe that what you eat will make any difference.  These are symptoms of things going on in your mind.  There are some medications and food that can become stimulants and add to the anxiety experience, but they are not the cause.

[bernie40]

Hi Maggie,
I understand where you got the link with gluten allergy.  I am Coeliac (gluten intolerant) and have been all my life (39 years of it).  If you are gluten intolerant you cannot absorb the vitamins and nutrients from the food in your digestive system.  Decreased levels of certain B vitamins, magnesium (and a few others) have shown, in some trials, to have an impact on mental health.  HOWEVER, I do not know how professional these trials were or how accurate.  I do know that the gluten intolerant do not get as much vitamins but as for the link with mental health I cannot be sure.  A blood test would be a good idea if you are worried about your vitamin levels and as with one of the other posts it will also show up whether or not your are anaemic.

Regards.  Helen

[mc2004]

hey maggie. I suffer from extreme anxiety to the point of OCD. I have a huge fear of blood and HIV which has caused me to have to drop out of school because I did not want to ruin my grade point average. I knew I needed to gwt help. I stopped eating sugar and for a week or so after I got headaches, but I do notice that my nerves have calmed down some. Also, I am in my second month or close to it of being a vegetarian and I feel better. I would reccomend not eating or drinking sugar, because it does cause anxiety in people. Also, working out has helped tremendously. I hope this helps. God bless.

[justTess]

Hi Maggie

I just wanted to let you know that I have wondered at times about the way my anxiety and depression seem to pop up without noticing an increase in stress.  I thought maybe the sugar and wheat products had an affect also, so I eliminated a lot of it.

I discovered during a blood test a few months ago that I was severely anemic and had an affect on my anxiety (and energy level)  

Don't skip your yearly check up like I did for 3 years.  My doc thought I may have been unhealthily anemic for at least a year before he caught it.