Fuel Your Life, Not Your Anxiety
The Mayo Clinic News Network suggest that no more than 10% of the calories in a healthy diet come from saturated fats. The University of California, Davis, notes that the average American exceeds this by eating about 12% of their calories through saturated fats and 36% of their calories from fat in general. (Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting total fat to 20 to 35% of daily calories.) Even more, when stressed (and who isn’t stressed at some point) we often eat more junk food for comfort, increasing our saturated fat intake.
Of course, I’m not a medical physician or dietician. I write about families, marriages, and ways to nurture health in those relationships. And that is why I mention this information. A study out of the University of Colorado found that a diet high in fat led to more than simple weight gain. It led to less diversity in gut bacteria. (The more diverse the bacteria in our gut, the better.) Through its impact on the production and signaling of serotonin, a diet high in fat also led to an increase in stress and anxiety. Did catch that? Let me state that more directly. When stressed we may eat more junk food, increasing our total fat intake and our saturated fat intake. In this study, the increased fat and saturated fat intake fueled anxiety. Excess fat increased anxiety. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need anything contributing to an increase in the anxiety in my life or my family’s life. To decrease the chance of a high-fat diet increasing anxiety in your family:
- Eat a healthy diet in which fats make up only 20-30% of your calories.
- Eat as many different kinds of fruits and vegetables as you can.
- Eat some fermented food like yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, or apple cider vinegar to support a healthy diversity of gut bacteria.
- Enjoy the healthy fats found in fish, nuts, seeds, avocados, or olive oil.
These healthy lifestyle habits will fuel your life, not your anxiety and not your family’s anxiety.
-0 Comment-