Terri Ramsey Beavers We all experience a form of anxiety in our lives at some point. It can manifest in all sorts of different ways, and it can really take its toll on our mental and physical well-being.
But what is anxiety exactly? Why do we experience it? What causes it? And more importantly, what can we do to overcome it?
In this article, we’ll investigate the causes and remedies of this overbearing emotional state. In particular, we’ll look at the effects of nutrition and what vitamin deficiency causes anxiety.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a form of stress where one becomes overly concerned about a potential future event. Anxiety effectively triggers the fear response to a perceived threat that hasn’t happened yet, resulting in physical symptoms such as a fast heart rate, increased blood pressure, sweating, and so on.
Stress can be good for us, such as when we exercise, serving as a stimulus for growth and adaptation. When we push ourselves, we become stronger and better equipped to deal with stress in the future. But when a stressful event occurs and we’re not prepared, it can severely impact our health.
How Does Diet Affect Anxiety?
Think of your body as a complex machine with thousands of moving parts working in unison. For it all to operate smoothly, it needs essential ingredients that come from our diet. Eat too much fat, sugar, and salt, and it throws everything out of equilibrium, resulting in all sorts of problems.
For instance, too much salt or sugar can elevate your blood pressure and thicken arteries, putting excess stress on your heart. So when stress occurs, your body goes into overdrive and can lead to serious health conditions. This is why a healthy diet inclusive of vitamins and minerals is essential.
What Vitamin Deficiency Causes Anxiety?
A healthy diet means you’re getting those essential nutrients for your body to function optimally. If you’re deficient in anything, it can lead to certain health issues – one being increased anxiety. So it’s vital to supplement if required. Here are a couple of examples:
Vitamin D – affects nerve and brain health, as well as mood regulation. People with low levels of vitamin D are more likely to experience more anxiety and depression. As we normally get it from the sun, the winter months can be tough on our wellbeing.
Vitamin B – affects energy levels and mood. B-1 vitamins produce calming effects to ease the mind and body and reduce anxiety. B-6 affects your mood as it is essential for proper function of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin (a feel-good chemical). Low levels of vitamin B can lead to higher levels of anxiety and stress.
Anxiety Treatments
Aside from supplementing your diet with such vitamins, there are other forms of treatment that can assist in relieving anxiety. For starters, you can do more exercise or take up meditation to learn to calm the mind and deal with stress better. You can also buy spinner rings to help you reduce your anxiety.
Alternatively, you can seek treatment such as counseling, or cognitive behavioral therapy, to learn how to cope with and overcome anxiety. And for severe cases, there’s medication available such as Valium, or medical cannabis for anxiety.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Anxiety is a part of all of our lives on some level. It’s simply a case of understanding it and learning how to deal with it better. So, if you’ve been wondering why you’re experiencing it, or what vitamin deficiency causes anxiety, hopefully, you’re now a little more clued up.
Just remember, there’s always a remedy to any issues you may face in life – especially anxiety. So, if you would like to learn more about your own health and psychology, head on over to the rest of our blog to see what else you might discover today!
Image Attribution:
Pexels.com royalty-free image #897817, uploaded by user Nathan Cowley, retrieved from on December 11th, 2019. License details available at – image is licensed under the Pexels License.