If you experience anxiety, you are not alone.  Conditions like anxiety and depression are becoming increasingly common.  In Australia and New Zealand about 20% of adults will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives.    3% of Australian adults experience anxiety in a year (this is high!) and 55 to 60 % of these are women.  The higher incidence of women with anxiety may be due to the fact that men seek treatment less frequently.  The average high-schooler today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950’s. We are getting more anxious every decade.

When we are presented with a stressful situation it is normal to feel some anxiety, however it is when this becomes more prolonged or severe that anxiety is considered to be a ‘disorder’.  Anyone who has experienced anxiety knows that you can’t just “stop worrying” or “snap out of it” – if it was that simple then it wouldn’t be such a problem.  Thankfully, there is much that can be done.  One of the first steps to overcoming anxiety is understanding that it’s not ‘all in your head’, but learning about the condition, and then taking steps to get better by seeking help.

 WHY?

There are several types of anxiety, such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorders, post traumatic stress disorders and phobias.  These can be caused by slightly processes in the body, and will give different symptoms as well.

Given the increased pressure we have on ourselves with work, finance, family, relationships and not to mention all the scary things the media warns us about, it’s no wonder that anxiety is so common.  Support networks (groups of people that we can turn to who listen to and understanding our concerns) used to exist in greater strengths, however with everyone’s busy lives and the impact of technology on social interactions we are no longer able to ‘debrief’ as we once were, and so our stresses are exaggerated and not dealt with properly.

There are many different causes and triggers of anxiety (so many that it could fill a book) so I will only list some of them.

• Neurotransmitters are chemicals which allow our neurons to communicate with the rest of our body by an electrical signal.  If there is an imbalance in these, we can get a problem with mood.  Serotonin, Glutamate, GABA and Dopamine are most often involved with anxiety.  The way that we make neurotransmitters is like a factory line – we start with protein and there are several steps along the way where certain vitamins and minerals add bits and pieces to get the final product.  If something goes wr0ng with that factory line, you get neurotransmitter imbalances.
• Emotional triggers.  This doesn’t really need explaining.
• Hormonal imbalances.  Many women (and their partners) are well aware of the affects of PMS on mood.  Anxiety and depression are very common around ‘that time of the month’.
• Blood sugar level fluctuations.  When your blood sugar levels drop it can cause feelings of anxiety, so eating a low GI diet is important to prevent anxiety.
• Diet : deficiencies.  What you eat can affect your mood.  A lot.  There are a few vitamins and minerals in particular that have very important roles in making our neurotransmitters (think of the factory line mentioned before), and if you are missing one or any of these then the process either doesn’t occur, or goes in the wrong direction. 
• Diet : triggers.  Food intolerances, caffeine or other stimulants, preservatives and additives can trigger anxiety via a complicated chemical process which ultimately – you guess it – disrupts that neurtransmitter factory line.
• Digestive problems.  Did you know we make most of our neurotransmitters in our digestive system?  It makes sense then that digestive problems can upset the subtle balance of these neurotransmitters, affecting your mood.  Most people with IBS have probably noticed this connection for themselves – have a stressful day, and your gut suffers (and vice versa).  Liver issues can also be connected with anxiety, potentially via their effect on intestinal health and bilirubin toxicity, even though some conditions such as Gilbert’s syndrome are frequently labelled as being symptom free.
• Toxicity (e.g. heavy metals)
• Inflammation.  A lot of mental health conditions are now being linked to other auto-immune/inflammatory conditions, and depression itself is considered to be an inflammatory condition.

WHAT CAN I DO?

 Seek help!

According to a research paper from the Lancet published in 2006, despite the great number of pharmacological options less than half of the patients suffering from panic disorder experience a full and sustained remission.  What should we take from this disappointing fact?

We need to realise that what causes anxiety is not the same for everyone.  Treatment of anxiety and other mental health conditions needs to be holistic.  By this I mean that all the factors that combine to cause anxiety need to be addressed, and that treatment should incorporate different methods to do this, such as counselling, nutrition, herbal medicine, massage and acupuncture to relieve the symptoms of anxiety and address the underlying causes.

Complementary medicine can do marvellous things for anxiety, however if your anxiety is severely debilitating then medication may be necessary in the short term.  It is advisable not to self prescribe as anxiety and depression require specific doses and quality of herbs which are difficult to find in the retail range, and there are interactions between some medications and herbs which should be avoided.

There are many different treatment options available giving you plenty of choice and whichever one you choose it is most likely you will get some relief – choose a therapy that you have an affinity with and combine it with a cognitive therapy (e.g. counselling, hypnotherapy or meditation) and you’re on the right path.

Don’t lose hope – if you seek help then you can regain control over your anxiety.

Some tips to help you along your way

Meditation is one of the oldest and most effective ways of managing anxiety and mood disorders.  Research has shown that people who take conventional medications for anxiety who also meditate have a better result.  This is a good practice to incorporate into your daily ritual to help manage anxiety.

Breathing techniques are a very important part of managing anxiety.  A lot of people don’t breathe correctly, which is usually a habit we don’t even realize we have.  Some of us are chronically bad breathers as a result of growing up with breathing conditions such as asthma or sinus disorders.  This incorrect way of breathing can worsen anxiety, often leading to hyperventilation.

Your diet can have a strong impact on anxiety, both positively and negatively.  To begin with, simply reduce the foods that can trigger anxiety (see above) and try to increase your intake of nourishing foods like good fats, vegetables and whole (intact and unprocessed) grains – preferably organic.  For further guidance consult a naturopath or nutritionist.

Exercise.  Walking, jogging, swimming, pilates, yoga.  Get moving – it does wonders for burning up your stress hormones and clearing your thoughts.

Keep Rescue Remedy or Emergency Essence handy to use if you have an acute episode.

Mindfulness exercises are a great technique to ‘unclutter’ your mind.  There are plenty of different techniques available (just do an internet search) but the core of the technique is that you are concentrating solely on what is happening at that moment in time.  Mindful eating is a great habit to get into – it improves stress as well as digestion.

Works Cited

• Brito, D. B. (2012). Bilirubin Toxicity. Retrieved from http://www.ff.ul.pt/FCT/RECI/BIM-MEC/0188/2012/1.pdf
• Charles L. Raison, M., Christopher A. Lowry, P., & Graham A. W. Rook, B. M. (2010). Inflammation, Sanitation, and ConsternationLoss of Contact With Coevolved, Tolerogenic Microorganisms and the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Major Depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 67(12), 1211-1224.
• Hechtman, L. (2011). Clinical Naturopathic Medicine. Churchill Livingstone Australia.
• Leahy, R. H. (2008, April 30). Anxiety: How Big a problem is it? (Psychology Today) Retrieved April 21, 2012, from http://www.china-consult.com.au/2010/09/17/anxiety-how-big-a-problem-is-it/
• Mindfulness in Everyday Life. (2007, January). (Black Dog Institute) Retrieved April 21, 2012, from http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/10.MindfulnessinEverydayLife.pdf
• Overeview of mental illness in Australia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.responseability.org/site/index.cfm?display= 134563
• Roy-Byrne, P. P., Craske, M. G., & Stein, M. B. (2006). Panic Disorder. Lancet, 1023-1032.
• Satish A. Eraly, M. P., Caroline M. Nievergelt, P., Adam X. Maihofer, M., Donald A. Barkauskas, P., Nilima Biswas, P., Agorastos Agorastos, M., . . . Team, f. t. (2014). Assessment of Plasma C-Reactive Protein as a Biomarker of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Risk . JAMA Psychiatry, 71(4), 423-431. Retrieved from http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1833091&resultClick=3

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When I was a kid I gave my mother grief in the mornings: I never got out of bed on time and was a fussy breakfast eater.  Remembering those mornings I understand the stress that parents go through, trying to give their children a nutritious breakfast and healthy packed lunch to send them off to school with.  Hectic lifestyles will usually result in parents reaching for the quickest food options available, and this usually comes from a packet.  Which food is picked is usually the product that appears to be the healthiest option, makes the best health claims and which one tastes the best.  Unless you’ve studied nutrition it can be very difficult (and time consuming) to stand in the aisles analysing each product, and then you’ve got to make the final decision – will my child eat this?  So we place our trust in the companies.  Surely they know what they’re doing, right?  Surely they just want to do what’s right?

Food companies know that parents want to do the best for their child, and will market their products based around a ‘health perk’, often hoping that this will distract the consumers from the other nasties in the food, or the lack of other important nutrients such as fibre, vitamins and minerals.  Some of the foods most susceptible to this are breakfast cereals, formulas, and snack foods.  Products that are “rich in calcium/iron/protein for healthy bones/energy/muscles” can sometimes be rich in sugar, low in fibre and/or high in preservatives.  This does not balance out, creating a health food.

Artificial colours and preservatives

Over the last 50 years we developed the ability to travel further and faster. Our diets have changed dramatically, incorporating a bigger variety of foods which are now usually available year round.  More recently, over the last 15 years foods have changed even further with the use of additives to make our foods more colourful, tasty and less perishable.  Some of these additives have been well tested and shown to be safe, while others have been linked to many health problems such as hyperactivity, asthma and skin problems.  The most common problematic ones are artificial colours, such as Brilliant Blue 133, Tartrazine 102, Sunset Yellow 110, Amaranth 123 or Fast Green 143.  Additives like these are derived from petroleum and are not considered safe in other countries such as USA, UK and Norway.

One of the reasons additives are still used in Australia is because it cuts down the costs of making food: for example to reduce the cocoa in chocolate milk while keeping the brown colour they add a little bit of cocoa plus Brilliant Blue 133 and Brown HT 155; to give the appearance of fruit in some yoghurts they add a variety of red, yellow and blue colours.

In many cases the colour is added to make food look more real as manufacturers skimp on quality raw ingredients to save a few dollars, or the colour is added specifically to increase the products’ marketing appeal to young children in particular.

In other countries they use different, safer colouring options based on real foods, and while these are available in Australia they are rarely used because it is the more expensive option.

Added Sugar

When you look at the labels of some foods (not just children’s foods) you may be surprised to see that there is a lot of sugar added into savoury as well as sweet foods.  Some common savoury foods containing added sugar include sauces, salad dressings and muesli bars.

So if 1 tsp of sugar = 4g, you can determine how many teaspoons of sugar are in a meal by dividing the amount of sugar in 100g or a serving by 4.  There can be up to 4 teaspoons of sugar in some yoghurts, 2½ in a tin of baked beans and up to 6½ in a small bar of milk chocolate.

Look at the labels on foods, and check for added sugars.  Sugar comes under the guise of many names: fructose, sucrose, dextrose, maltose, glucose syrup, lactose, corn syrup, hydrolysed starch, inverted sugar, or concentrated fruit juice.  The nutrition panel details how much total sugar is contained in a food, but this can include added and natural sugars.

When children consume sugar-rich foods they get an artificial high, rapidly raising the levels of sugar and adrenaline in their bloodstream. This can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, and difficulties concentrating.

This rapid rise in blood sugar levels stimulates the release of too much insulin, which causes children’s blood sugar levels to plummet, resulting in irritable and cranky kids.  Regular consumption of these foods can lead to children becoming overweight or obese, which is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes.  It also increases their risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life.

Large amounts of sugar in the diet can also interfere with the absorption of calcium and zinc, important minerals for children’s health and development.

6 teaspoons of sugar a day can suppress the effectiveness of your immune system by up to 25%.  Sugar competes with vitamin C uptake into immune cells.  I often recommend to parents whose children have a cold or ‘flu to cut out sugar while they are ill so as to allow the immune system to reach its full potential.  If your child constantly has an infection, perhaps you should consider reducing or eliminating sugar from the diet.

Frequent consumption of sugary foods and beverages is one of the leading causes of tooth decay in children.

But they’re fun!

Many parents fondly look at lollies and junk food with nostalgia and think that if they don’t give their children these foods they are missing out on a vital experience of childhood.

Now that you know the facts about some of these additives, you may look at your child’s lunchbox or the next birthday party spread through new eyes. Ask yourself if you really want your family to be eating these chemicals in our foods which are not even allowed in foods in other countries. Think about the long term health effects of these chemicals and added sugar and whether or not you want your family to eat real foods or so called “fun” foods filled with additives.

Helpful ways to reduce your child’s additive and sugar intake

• Get creative and make healthy versions of your kid’s favourite sweet foods. Fruits such as berries and bananas are an ideal way to sweeten cakes, muffins, sauces and smoothies.
• Many yoghurts aimed at children contain too much sugar, additives and preservatives.  Make your own by getting a natural full-fat yoghurt and add your own fruits, such as a dollop of fruit puree, or from 9 months on chopped dried fruit (choose unsulphured).
• Instead of giving your child sweet snacks that are high in added sugar and low in nutrients, offer them healthier naturally sweet foods, such as fruit, small amounts of sun-dried fruit and fruit yoghurts.
• Choose whole oats, natural mueslis, puffed cereals (rice, millet, buckwheat) and other wholegrains for breakfast instead of sugary breakfast cereals.
• Watch out for so called health bars and breakfast bars in your supermarket — often marketed as healthy snacks or ‘breakfast on the run’.  You are best-off making your own muesli bars and biscuits for your kids to take to school and for after-school snacks.
• Avoid giving soft drinks to your kids.  Instead mix a little 100% fruit juice with some natural mineral water.
• Avoid using cordials as they are a concentrated form of sugar. Use 100% fruit juice as cordial, diluted with water.
• Keep lollies and chocolates for special occasions such as birthday parties, and try to go for those free from additives and synthetic colours.
• Make it extra special by getting the kids involved in making the sweets at home – they’ll have fun making them with you, and will appreciate the treats all the more because they’ve helped make them.

Resources:

Additive Alert

Chemical Maze

Lunch Matters

Laptop Lunches

Lucy Burney Children’s Diets

Mindd Foundation – Practitioner database of those specialising in paediatric disorders such as ADHD, Asthma, allergies, autism, chronic illness, depression, learning and language delay, and digestive and behavioural disorders.

Children’s Cookbooks:

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