How to Eat for Less Stress and Anxiety: Simple Nutrition Tweaks
- Janna Ross
- Apr 23
- 6 min read
The world is crazy and so much feels out of our control, doesn't it? There is a LOT of stress and anxiety going around. Yeah, I'm talking about them like they're bugs you can catch. And I suppose in a way they can be because we already have stress and anxiety from our own lives, but then we take on more because of having concern for a friend going through something or turning on the TV and suddenly you're bombarded with everything in the world that's wrong. And then you're even more stressed and anxious.
It's important that we take control where we can and while that may include turning off the news and letting go of what isn't yours (you can do that and still be supportive of your friend) there are tons of other things you can do to reduce stress and anxiety in your life AND make yourself more resilient. Because let's be real- stress and anxiety aren't going anywhere.
Today we're going to focus on one area that you may have not considered as being a tool to better manage your stress and anxiety- your nutrition!
Let's talk about how to eat for less stress and anxiety with these simple nutrition tweaks that can make a huge difference in how you handle stress and anxiety in your day to day life- if you apply them:
First off, we have your blood sugar balance.
If your blood sugar levels are like a roller coaster it's no wonder you're feeling extra anxious some days. When blood sugar goes down epinephrine gets released to help get our blood sugar back up. What's epinephrine? Adrenaline! What does adrenaline do? It triggers your fight or flight response. What does that mean? Anxiety can rear its ugly head! (Rath, 2024) So, when hanxiety hits now you know why!
Three ways to hop off the blood sugar roller coaster:
Eat foods that are going to keep you satisfied and nourished. This means focusing on foods with higher nutritional content rather than quick snacks that will digest in 30 minutes and cause the blood sugar roller coaster you are trying to avoid. This looks like having meals with enough protein, fiber, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates.
An example meal could be grilled chicken with a sweet potato and mixed greens.
Another one could be beef protein pasta with a side salad.
The things you'd want to avoid would be donuts, candy bars, chips, granola bars, or anything that you notice doesn't keep you full for very long. Which leads us to our second thing...
Pay attention to your hunger and fullness cues. Don't wait until you are absolutely ravenous to eat. By then you'll be working back towards stabilizing blood sugar rather than maintaining it. If you're someone who forgets to eat, then set a timer. If you tell yourself you don't have time to eat- STOP IT- you need to eat. NEED TO EAT. Plus you'll focus and function better once you've fueled your body. No you don't need caffeine- you need food. Which leads us to our next one for the ones who say they don't have time...
Plan ahead so you have healthy food options ready. You can't use "I don't have time" as an excuse if you plan ahead and make yourself a smoothie or have a prepped meal you can throw in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then you don't have to drive somewhere to get lunch. You can eat at your desk (if you must- though I recommend giving yourself 15-20 minutes to take a break from your work. Your brain will thank you).
You can also check out these blog posts that go more into depth on how and what to eat to help reduce anxiety as well as how to plan your meals ahead!
Next let's talk about hydration.
We all know that we need to drink plenty of water each day, but what you may not know is that it can actually help mitigate anxiety and stress. As boring and tasteless as water can be it's actually important to the overall function of our body and brain. If you're dehydrated then you're likely to produce MORE cortisol and LESS dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. And since cortisol is a hormone that kicks on our fight or flight response we can then end up feeling irritable or anxious. (Cleveland Clinic, 2025) Not to mention the brain fog you can sometimes experience when you haven't had enough water and then you get all stressed out because your brain just can't think and you really need your focuser to be focusing 😵💫
Here are some suggestions on how to drink more water:
Carry a water bottle with you. An emotional support water bottle if you will. Not only will you drink more water, but you'll also get steps in because you'll constantly be going to the bathroom!
Set reminders in your phone to drink water. Don't ignore them!
Use flavor enhancers like lemon, other fruits, or the packets you can find in stores (aim for low sugar or sugar free!)
Start a challenge with a friend to drink a certain amount of water each day and keep each other accountable.
Finally, let's talk about what you're eating.
It has been shown that it's likely that chronic stress can lead to systemic inflammation which can then potentially lead to increased anxiety. (Won & Kim, 2020) Essentially stress creating a feedback loop on itself. The best thing would be to try to reduce stress in the first place (one of the main goals of this blog is to teach you how to do that!) and then eat in a way that can help mitigate inflammation. Here are a couple of examples of nutrients that could help do just that:
Omega 3s
To put this in the most basic terms omega-3s do a lot of work in our brains including helping reduce levels of inflammation. It's also been noted that inadequate levels of omega-3s can have a negative impact on mental health and brain functioning as well. (Su et al., 2018) There is A LOT of research still to be done here, and regardless of the specifics of how omega-3s help our mental health we DO know they are good for our bodies overall. Here are some food sources of omega-3s:
Salmon
Mackerel
Oysters
Flax seeds
Chia seeds
Walnuts
Probiotics
You can find these in fermented foods just make sure there are LIVE strains of probiotics in the food you are eating! It will tell you on the nutrition label.
Yogurt
Cottage cheese
Sauerkraut
Pickles
NOTE: You can use supplements to get omega-3s and probiotics if needed, though I always recommend getting as much as you can from actual food before turning to supplements.
It's important that we use all the tools we have to become more resilient against stress and anxiety and our nutrition choices and habits are very effective ones. Apply at least one of these today and see how it helps you!
Also, like I said above, it's important to learn to reduce stress and anxiety through our daily habits outside of nutrition as well. For info on how to do that check out one of these blog posts:
There are many more where these came from so feel free to peruse through the blog to find more to support you in your goal to become more resilient despite anxiety and stress!
References
Cleveland Clinic. (2025, March 28). Dehydration and Mental Health: What’s the Connection? Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/dehydration-and-affect-on-mental-health
Rath, L., (2024, June 15). The Link Between Low Blood Sugar and Anxiety. https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/low-blood-sugar-anxiety-link
Su, K. P., Tseng, P. T., Lin, P. Y., Okubo, R., Chen, T. Y., Chen, Y. W., & Matsuoka, Y. J. (2018). Association of Use of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids With Changes in Severity of Anxiety Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA network open, 1(5), e182327. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.2327
Won, E., & Kim, Y. K. (2020). Neuroinflammation-Associated Alterations of the Brain as Potential Neural Biomarkers in Anxiety Disorders. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(18), 6546. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21186546
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