The Relationship Between Hormonal Imbalances and Anxiety

If you want to manage anxiety, at the hormonal level, it is essential to understand what is going on in your body:
It is the hormonal imbalance that results in an emotional imbalance that gives rise to these feelings of anxiety and anxiety attacks.
In this case, the right question would be whether we can restore this balance naturally and healthily. The answer is that YES, we can, and I will show you how it works.

Increase levels of positive hormones

You can naturally increase the levels of positive hormones in your body:

–SEROTONIN: Serotonin is the hormone of happiness, produced naturally by your body based on tryptophan. How to get tryptophan? Easy, you have to eat healthily. This long list of foods will help you healthily increase your serotonin levels: oatmeal, lentils, chickpeas, cassava, sweet potatoes, brown rice, spinach, lettuce, avocado, pineapple, blueberries, currants, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, apples, banana, chili, eggs, chicken, veal, tuna, salmon, sardines, shrimps, crab, spider crab, nuts, almonds, fish, seeds, soy, milk, yogurt, dark chocolate, and cheese.

Even better would be to choose foods that, in addition to containing tryptophan, are natural sedatives such as oatmeal, lettuce, spinach, avocado, salmon, tuna, seeds, almonds, and nuts. In addition to feeling happier, you will also feel more relaxed.

Then opting for a diet rich in omega-three fatty acids is a good idea. What are they? These are essential elements for your well-being that surround every cell of your body. They are vital for the proper functioning of the brain, heart, and blood vessels. Your body does not produce them, so you must take care of your diet to get them. It’s the easiest way to protect yourself from depression, anxiety, and panic attacks! These foods would be oats, salmon, tuna, sardines, nuts, seeds, and soy.

Let’s not forget the antioxidants, which are molecules capable of fighting free radicals, which are the unstable molecules in your body that have lost an electron. They are one of the leading causes of aging and cause disease. To get a good dose of antioxidants, you need to focus on foods that contain vitamins C, E, and A. These foods would be: orange, lemon, pomelo, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, spinach, lettuce, avocado, squash, carrots, dark chocolate, beans, lentils, chickpeas, garlic, onions, oats, almonds, nuts, and seeds.

Forget processed and ultra-processed foods with high levels of saturated fat and salt. Start cooking. Ingestion of too much salt has harmful effects on your body, such as dehydration, which will make you feel uncomfortable and irritable. Although they are more expensive, I advise you to buy food without pesticides, organic. Either way, what you save at the supermarket, you will spend at the pharmacy.

You now know that your digestive system produces serotonin. You can help your digestive system work properly by ingesting probiotics. What are probiotics? These are living bacteria or microorganisms, which, when ingested in sufficient quantity, contribute to the proper functioning of your digestive system and your immune system. What foods contain probiotics? Yogurts, dark chocolate, certain cheeses such as blue cheese, hard goat cheese, mozzarella, and other soft cheeses, gouda, and cheddar.

In summary, you should have noticed that oat flakes appear in almost all the lists I mentioned. In addition to being an inexpensive food, they regulate the level of sugar in your blood, protect you against cancer, lower bad cholesterol, promote your ability to relax. They do not stress your body as it is very digestive food. Besides, although it is not a probiotic, several studies have shown that it also naturally regenerates the intestinal flora. Long live oatmeal!

–DOPAMINE: Dopamine is known as the pleasure hormone. It gives you signs of pleasure, satisfaction, and well-being. Getting a sufficient level of dopamine in the body is quite simple. First, you need to eat enough protein by eating chicken, eggs, veal, fish, nuts, almonds, lentils, chickpeas, lentils, beans, spinach, cucumbers, mushrooms, soy, and drink milk. You should also start playing sports, regardless of the type of sport, running, cycling, swimming, dancing. Start with half an hour a day. The positive hormonal effects of physical activity are that your dopamine and serotonin levels increase, and your adrenaline level decreases. Adrenaline is terrible if you are an anxious person. Then your dopamine levels will also increase if you start to relax by listening to music that you like to walk or meditate on. It would be better if you do outdoor activities because sunlight also increases your dopamine and serotonin levels. Studies have shown that after 5 minutes of sun exposure, dopamine, and serotonin levels increase. What are you waiting for? Put on sneakers and go for a walk in nature!

–ENDORPHIN: These hormones are the natural equivalent of morphine. These are natural pain relievers that decrease your perception of pain and anxiety, increasing your sense of well-being. While stress and anxiety are a natural way to increase your endorphin level, it will also increase the level of other hormones that don’t do the job for you. So how do you increase your endorphin levels without waking up the harmful hormones? There are several activities you can do to improve the level of endorphin in your body, such as playing sports, meditating, listening to music, eating chocolate, eating spicy foods, or having sex. Yes, do not hesitate. Making love is very good for you!

–PROGESTERONE: Progesterone is a female sex hormone, but men also need it for the production of testosterone. This hormone has a relationship with sexual appetite and fertility.
To get a good dose of progesterone, I recommend the following foods: beans, chickpeas, bananas, nuts, seeds, carrots, lentils, broccoli, beets, almonds, spinach, squash, brown rice, and dairy products.
Progesterone will help you moderate sudden mood changes and reduce mood swings. The simple fact of being less stressed makes you naturally have higher levels of progesterone in the body because when you are stressed, the stress hormones like adrenaline and norepinephrine will give signals to your kidneys to convert progesterone into cortisol. Later, you will read that it is terrible for you.

–OXYTOCIN: Oxytocin is one of my favorite hormones because it is a very mysterious hormone. We call it the love hormone. It occurs in the hypothalamus, which is one of the oldest parts of our brain and regulates essential functions such as controlling body temperature, sleep, thirst, hunger, sexual appetite, and parental relationships, more specifically paternal or maternal love. Oxytocin transmits feelings of love and empathy. It is one of the most potent relaxing hormones and an immunizer against anxiety and depression. Foods and condiments that stimulate the production of oxytocin are figs, spinach, arugula, basil, cinnamon, peppermint, watermelon, pomegranate, avocado, banana, almonds, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, carrots, asparagus, and oysters. You now know how aphrodisiac foods work!

Now you are aware of what you need to do to feel good and relaxed.

Decrease levels of negative hormones

The time has arrived to explain what you should avoid so that you don’t get stressed and anxious. Avoid the high levels of these harmful hormones:

–ADRENALINE: adrenaline or epinephrine is the activation hormone. The adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, produce adrenaline. They give strong signals which are essential for our survival because they help in need, in dangerous situations. These famous signals to flee or fight. They speed up the heart rate, raise blood pressure, and give you more oxygen in the blood. Anxiety occurs when you receive these signals, but the danger is non-existent or irrational. In our modern society, stress is the leading cause of the high adrenaline levels that cause anxiety. As you already know, to relieve stress, you need to combine an active lifestyle, healthy eating, establishing a routine, spending time in nature, and finding a goal in your life, something that makes you happy.

–NOREPINEPHRINE: norepinephrine or noradrenaline is the hormone we commonly call the stress hormone. The primary function of this hormone is to prepare the body for action and is one of the leading causes of anxiety. The adrenal glands also produce norepinephrine. Stress and anxiety are the leading causes of increased levels of norepinephrine, which, in turn, will lead to more stress and more anxiety, a vicious cycle. But norepinephrine also plays a positive role in the body. Too low a level of norepinephrine causes negative thoughts and depression.

–CORTISOL: Cortisol is also produced in the adrenal glands and is a hormone that is used to increase blood sugar and to transform fats, proteins, and carbohydrates into energy. That way, you have a great source of energy that will help you if you have to run away or fight. If you experience anxiety, as I explained, your body will give danger signals in situations where there is no rational danger, and the production of this hormone will be activated. If you fail to channel this energy, you will have an anxiety attack.
Any food that contains a high level of refined sugar or saturated fat will increase your cortisol levels.

Above all, you must stop consuming these products: coffee, soda, Red Bull, candy, pizza, burgers, alcohol, fruit juice, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, and all light foods that are nothing but disguised junk food. The reason I tell you that the low-fat products are hidden junk food is that they contain a carcinogenic and neurotoxic sweetener called aspartame. It can cause nausea, diarrhea, and malaise.

Very similar is the neurotoxic aroma, monodic glutamate (MSG) found in most crisps, fast food, Chinese food, and ready meals. MSG can cause nausea and anxiety. You will also wonder why coffee is on this list.

The presence of coffee in the list is because caffeine consumption increases your cortisol and adrenaline levels. A large intake of caffeine will also increase your norepinephrine level. Do yourself a favor and don’t eat any of these foods until you’ve gotten your anxiety under control.

Now you know that if you want to get your anxiety under control, you have to deal with your hormones first.