ANXIETY ADVICE

Can a healthy diet help anxiety? Considering the known benefits of keeping a healthy diet, it may well just be worth a try. 

Start from outside, they say, with a little bit of exercise. According to Natural News:

"Regular exercise can also decrease the production of stress hormones and therefore help to better manage stressful situations. Reducing stress through exercise can give one a sense of well being and confidence. The more stress is reduced; the easier it becomes to cope with and eliminate stress."

Then work your way to the inside, with your diet. 

Sometimes when you're anxious or stressed healthy food is the last thing on your mind. You're thinking about chocolate and fries and deep-fried foods, the very last thing on your mind is fruit, vegetables or par-boiled meats. The thing is, however, that these more sensible foods are just that, and a wonder for managing your anxiety. While that block of chocolate may provide a fix, it is a quick and temporary fix, and you're definitely looking for something long term.
 

This delicious Greek Salad by Nigella is perfect 

(picture and recipe from nigella.com)

 

 Ingredients

• 1 Red Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano (dried)
• 1 A pinch of black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Red wine vinegar
• 200 Millilitres Extra virgin olive oil
• 5 Medium tomato
• 1 Teaspoon caster sugar
• 1 A pinch of Maldon salt
• 1 Large Cos lettuce
• 1 Fennel
• 125 Grams black olives pitted
• 400 Grams Feta cheese
• 1 Lemon juice

Method

1. Peel and finely slice the red onion then sprinkle over the oregano and grind over some pepper.
2. Pour in the vinegar and oil and toss well, cover with clingfilm and leave to steep for a good 2 hours; longer's fine. What you'll notice, once it's had its time, as well, is that the blooded crimson of the onion is somehow now a luminescent puce. It's a science thing, something to do with the acid in the vinegar: don't ask. You don't need to be fully conversant with the technicalities to be able to take advantage of them. That's to say, I often use this trick in other ways. An otherwise overwhelmingly brown slab of meat can be immediately lifted (in looks and taste) by being covered with some red onions, cut into wedges of 8 or so, and then fried in olive oil, to which, once softened, you add the juice of a lemon.
3. On top of the lemony pink onions add some sprinkled Maldon salt and a generous amount of summer-green chopped parsley. Or make a quick sauce for pasta (this should be enough for a 500g packet of spaghetti) by cutting a red onion into very fine half-moons (ie, cut the onion in half and then slice each half as finely as you can), frying it in olive oil, spritzing in the juice of half a lemon, as before, and then tossing this, along with 200g tuna cut into thin little rags, into the cooked drained spaghetti; the heat of the pasta will cook the raw tuna plenty.
4. Add seasoning to taste, and some extra virgin olive oil as you like, and a goodish amount of chopped fresh parsley (again). But these are just suggestions: the pink onion technique can be drawn on in whatever way pleases you.
5. But to return to the case in hand: when you want to eat, get started with the rest of the salad. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, then cut each quarter into quarters (always lengthwise) again, so that you have a collection of very fine segments (rather than chunks). Sprinkle the sugar and a pinch of salt over them and leave while you get on with the rest.
6. Wash the lettuce if you need to (I always try and get away with not) tear into big pieces and put into a large, wide salad bowl.
7. Slice the fennel and add that, then the olives and the feta, cut or crumbled into rough chunks, and toss well.
8. Now add the tomatoes, the red onion - now lucidly pink - in its marinade-dressing and the lemon juice. Toss gently, but thoroughly, so that everything is well combined. This is addictive: you will find yourself making it all through summer - and beyond.
9. Additional information - for vegetarians make sure the feta is one that uses vegetarian rennet.