Nutritionally Speaking: Cure Anxiety by Watching Diet / Simple Nutrition Rule to Follow

Dear Dr. Meinig: I quarrel and disagree with my family and friends far too often. I seem to be under tension all the time and I get dizzy, irritable, stomach upset, can’t sleep and I am beginning to tremble quite a lot. My doctor says I have anxiety neurosis and has given me several drugs. These sometimes calm me down but they haven’t stopped the problems entirely and especially how bad I feel.

Frankly, I haven’t paid much attention to my diet and after reading some of your articles think maybe that might help. Is there some vitamin I can take to stop all this? – S.P.

 

Dear S.P.: Several vitamins are directly associated with anxiety but the first thing to learn about nutrition is that it does not cure diseases, and neither do drugs. It is the body’s own defense mechanisms which affect the cure. A particular vitamin mineral, or poor diet habits may be involved in the cause of an illness but it is our cells that provide the means to restore health.

Single medications or vitamins may seem to cure an illness, but when they do they are only helping our cells to perform the miracle. It is almost impossible to have a serious deficiency of a single nutrient, except in experiments with animals.

All of your symptoms are common to many types of nervous disorders. These same symptoms have been produced in animals by use of excess noise, heat, cold, drugs, chemicals, bacteria, etc. Such stress triggers a chain of events in the glandular system. The pituitary gland is usually called upon first to cope with these problems. It produces hormones which in turn set off adrenal gland action. Then the thymus and lymph glands produce proteins to help in handling the anxiety stress situations.

All of us face stress in our lives, but most of us do not develop as many symptoms as you have, because our glandular systems are able to respond to the challenge. When they can’t, it is usually because of faulty nutrition. The adrenal glands, for example, are very sensitive to diet deficiencies–especially to lack of pantothenic acid. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is another serious cause of adrenal gland exhaustion.

The first requirement in curing anxiety and nervous disorders is to eliminate all the refined grains and fats, canned goods and other highly processed foods and beverages. Sixty-six percent of the average American’s diet is composed of fat and sugar. At any rate, all of these manufactured, highly refined foods have lost a good two-thirds of their vitamin and mineral content. Earlier I mentioned various stress tests given to animals. In every instance, these tests showed that the nutrient requirements of the animals increased dramatically under stress.

Mineral loss during nervous illness is predominantly magnesium, while all of the B vitamins and particularly B6 and pantothenic acid are associated with your symptoms. A diet high in protein (fish, poultry, eggs, and meat), liberal use of vegetables (at least half of them raw), along with small amounts of 100 percent whole grain are effective in restoring the function of our defense mechanisms.

Your letter stating you quarrel with family and friends reminded me of the story of the man who said, “every time my wife and I fight she gets HISTORICAL.” His friends said, “you mean HYSTERICAL don’t you?” “No,” he replied, “HISTORICAL. She’s always bringing up my past mistakes.”

Put aside your husband’s or family’s shortcomings. While it is understandable for one to become anxious and depressed by so many symptoms and while it is difficult to change a lifestyle, I urge you to face up to the need for better nutrition. Take a positive attitude and do change your diet habits. Learn and read all you can on this subject. In spite of all the negativeness around you there is a happy world out there…just waiting for you to find it.

 

Dear Dr. Meinig: Can you give us a simple rule to follow in nutrition that would solve most of its problems? – E.L.

 

Dear E.L.: Stay away from the three whites…SUGAR, SALT, WHITE FLOUR. (Remember most refined cereals are forms of white flour that have been colored and flavored.) Three beverages should be added to this list: soft drinks, caffeine products (coffee, tea, chocolate), and alcohol. The elimination of these six items would end the need for most doctors. Try it, you will like it.