What if you could lower anxiety and drastically change your mental health with a diet? Would you do it? This is the exact question I asked myself before I started this experiment with the so-called "ideal diet for anxiety!"
then, I tried a new diet for anxiety and had shocking results!
DISCLAIMER: I am not a health professional. This is not medical advice. This is my story and experience. You can use the resources here to make your own decisions. If necessary, consult your doctor before trying.
So here's a little backstory:
Many months ago, my husband approached me with a few questions about the Carnivore diet. He was learning and wondered if I had heard of it. I was immediately turned off and grossed out as he described it as being a diet of mainly animal products, meats, and sometimes dairy. The fact that someone would lower their diet to be that restrictive was both strange and intriguing. I couldn't figure out why on earth anyone would do such a thing!
As we both laughed it off and continued with our day, I started being bombarded by recommendations to study the Carnivore diet on my phone! (Yep, "they" really are listening, lol!)
One of the recommendations said that the Carnivore diet was good for your mental health and was touted as an ideal diet for anxiety... I was intrigued...
Here's what I learned when I tried the so-called ideal diet for anxiety:
these are my shocking results!
As a person who has struggled with mental health for a long time (over 15 years) and has also seen the benefits of a low-carbohydrate diet for anxiety, I believe a diet for anxiety can work. But being the "Questioner" I am (see The Four Tendencies Book to find out what a questioner is), I had to do a lot more research before starting a super restrictive diet like Carnivore!
So here's what happened... The first thing I found was an interview with Jordan Peterson (one of my favorite authors and speakers). In this interview, he discussed how he healed a lifetime issue with depression by changing his diet from a standard diet to the Carnivore diet! I have always found Jordan Peterson fascinating, extremely bold, and incredibly brilliant, so this made me look further into this diet!
Surely, a man of his intelligence wouldn't just jump off the intellectual deep-end and go against mostly all health recommendations like that unless it were actually true, his mental health improved. It turns out his daughter, Mikhaila Peterson, had also used this diet to heal her depression and a childhood autoimmune disease as well!
The more I looked, the more I found stories like these! There were testimonies all over the internet about people healing mental illnesses, anxiety, autoimmune diseases, and even diabetes and arthritis! I was shocked!
I've been on the ketogenic diet for 4 years now. I have been experimenting with it as a diet for anxiety for most of them, so I'm familiar with a diet helping your mental health. I even wrote an article on it; I'll link it below! However, I wondered if my mental health would improve more on this diet than on the ketogenic diet. If it was possible, I wanted to find out!
The Keto Diet Article
In the process of all my research, I found a clinical psychologist named Dr. Georgia Ede. She used to work at Harvard University for many years, where she first started using diet and nutrition to attempt to heal mental illnesses. Again, I was shocked and also convinced to try it.
So, I sat out on an experiment. I was already on a Ketogenic diet, making the switch pretty simple. I'm sure it would be much worse for someone going from a standard American diet to a more restrictive diet like Carnivore or Keto!
(Read more about that in the link below)
Every day, I started eating meat, eggs, butter, and a little dairy in my coffee. It was simple and easy.
Today marks day 40 that I've officially been on this diet for anxiety. I can honestly say that I've never felt better in my entire life, physically, emotionally, and mentally! It's incredible.
I've had several carby, off-plan meals to see how my body would respond, and I felt significant drops in my mental wellness and increased anxiety when I had sugary foods and fruit juices.
Overall I've felt incredible. All the things people said would happen did for me. I was completely shocked and didn't expect these types of results. I only sat out to see if I would improve anxiety, and I got lots of extra benefits too!
Here are some of the other benefits I experienced:
- Better overall mood.
- More mental clarity. Less brain fog.
- Intense Focus.
- Little to no cravings for sweets or treats. (those never really stopped completely with keto because of artificial sweeteners I used).
- Better/ clearer skin.
- Hair growth. I had a lot of postpartum hair loss, and within a few weeks, it started coming back strong!
- Muscle strength and better workouts.
- Sustained energy throughout the day.
- Better digestion.
- (For women only) More pleasant periods. (I've had 2 cycles; both were less cramping and bloating.)
Here's the summary of what this "diet for anxiety" really did for my mental health:
It turned it around completely. I am operating at a level of capabilities that I never thought possible. My stress tolerance has dramatically increased, and I have taken this rather stressful season in stride.
I'm honestly shocked because I thought Keto had helped me, but this has surprisingly done all of that and more. For me, it has shown itself to be a great diet for anxiety and stress.
Because of these incredible results and feeling so good, I've decided that I will continue this way of eating for a while longer, get some bloodwork and tests run and make some more determinations later. There is also a version of the Carnivore diet called "Ketovore," it is meat-based with some greens added in, which I'm considering trying as more of a permanent option! I'll Link some info to that below!
I don't know if it'll work for everyone, but overall, this diet appears promising as a diet for anxiety.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH because I'm only sharing my experience and not a ton of "proof" that this could work for you. I'm going to link many resources at the end of this article to help you start!
These have been my shocking results from trying the carnivore diet for anxiety and mental wellness!
Let me know in the comments below if this diet or any others have helped you in your mental health journey!
Saying Goodbye to Anxious,
Kristina G.
Resources that can help you with
this diet for anxiety!
YouTube videos:
'Nutritional and Metabolic Strategies for Optimizing Mental Health'
'Our Descent into Madness: Modern Diets and the Global Mental Health Crisis'
Separating fact from fiction with Dr. Georgia Ede — Diet Doctor Podcast
Can a carnivore diet cure depression and anxiety? The incredible story of Brett Lloyd.
Depression / Anxiety: Does Your Diet Matter? 2 Doctors Discuss
Articles:
Mental Health Benefits of the Carnivore Diet - Health Coach Kait
How Can the Carnivore Diet Help Depression and Anxiety
The Benefits of Using a Carnivore Diet and Depression Levels
