Dietitian and Nutritionist For Anxiety Management

A registered dietitian and nutritionist can implement a variety of interventions to help manage anxiety. Here’s how:

• Have your current diet assessed by a nutritionist and dietitian who works with clients who suffer from anxiety.
• Provide an educational component about the strong relationship between mental health and physical well-being.
• Underscore the point that the impact of dietary management on anxiety may vary between individuals.
• Work with a mental health dietitian for a dietary assessment for missing key nutrients that support mood and mental health.
• Discuss the importance of a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fatty fish and plant-based proteins–The Mediterranean Diet, for example–and its potential for positive outcome when managing anxiety.
• Stress the importance that eating regularly and avoiding excessive caloric restriction have been shown to reduce anxiety symptoms as well as they reflect positively on blood sugar control, which correlates with mood and energy regulation.
• Because many can turn to food as a coping mechanism and therefore often have a more complicated relationship with food and an increased likelihood of being overweight or obese, it may require to work with an eating disorder dietitian to help improve this relationship with food.
• Address potential nutrient deficiencies which can be more prevalent among this population as a result of fatigue and decreased motivation to grocery shop, meal plan and/or prep, etc. For those who turn to food as a coping mechanism, they are generally more likely to gravitate to high-fat, high-sugar foods, as opposed to high-fibre, nutrient-dense foods. This is a double-edged sword, as high-fat, high-sugar foods have negative impacts on gut health and neuroinflammation, which can actually worsen anxiety symptoms. The micronutrient deficiencies that result from these dietary habits can also further exacerbate anxiety for some, and so supplementation is often a valuable topic that can be addressed as well.
• Provide healthful meal and snack combinations requiring minimal effort and preparation for low mood days.
• Help add nutrient-dense foods to daily consumption such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, lean proteins.
• Have a personalized meal guide created.
• In addition to working with a dietitian and nutritionist to help manage anxiety, conduct sessions with a digestive health dietitian and learn about the connection between the gut and the brain (and microbiota).
• Take advantage of our weight loss service to help you achieve a healthy weight, if desired.
• Work with a sports dietitian to help ensure you are fuelled for physical activity, which can help alleviate anxiety symptoms.
• Address other conditions.
• Provide follow-up sessions to monitor progress, address additional concerns, answer questions and adjust the plan, if necessary.
• Work in conjunction with other health professionals as nutritional counselling, in combination with therapy, is one of the most effective strategies for improving relationships with food and helping people with anxiety disorders develop tools to manage emotional eating.
• And more.