Dark Chocolate The flavonoids in the cocoa help protect your cells. They're a type of antioxidant that may also help lower your blood pressure, boost the blood flow to your brain and heart, and make you less anxious.
Researchers found that eating the equivalent of one average-sized dark chocolate candy bar (1.4 ounces) each day for two weeks reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol as well as the “fight-or-flight” hormones known as catecholamines in highly stressed people.
Summary: Eating dark chocolate can help reduce anxiety and improve symptoms of clinical depression. People who ate dark chocolate in two 24-hour periods had 70% reduced odds of reporting depressive symptoms than those who did not eat chocolate.
Low serotonin is one of the leading causes (and outcomes) of anxiety. Dark chocolate provides large amounts of Tryptophan, an amino acid that also works as a precursor to serotonin. So, it's possible that by ingesting more dark chocolate, you're improving your serotonin levels.
Compounds in Dark Chocolate Can Make You Feel Calmer And More Content, Study Finds. A new study has found that eating small amounts of dark chocolate, which is high in an antioxidant called polyphenol, can increase feelings of calmness and contentedness.
Dark Chocolate
The flavonoids in the cocoa help protect your cells. They're a type of antioxidant that may also help lower your blood pressure, boost the blood flow to your brain and heart, and make you less anxious.
Foods naturally rich in magnesium may, therefore, help a person to feel calmer. Examples include leafy greens, such as spinach and Swiss chard. Other sources include legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Foods rich in zinc such as oysters, cashews, liver, beef, and egg yolks have been linked to lowered anxiety.
Dark Chocolate and Serotonin Levels
Dark chocolate may increase serotonin levels not only due to the serotonin and L-tryptophan it contains, but also because it contains carbohydrates in the form of sugar, which can signal the body to produce more serotonin.
Dark chocolate contains psychoactive ingredients that produce feel-good results; one is phenylethylamine, a neuromodulator that helps regulate mood. Plus, dark chocolate contains a higher concentration of antioxidants that reduce inflammation, a condition linked to the onset of depression.
Brain Treat: Dark Chocolate
Studies have shown cocoa flavonols improve cognitive function and blood pressure control in older adults, improve concentration, and can help stabilize mood.
Dark chocolate may also improve the function of your brain. Studies show that eating high flavanol cocoa can improve blood flow to the brain in young adults. This may explain why eating cocoa daily appears to improve attention, verbal learning, and memory ( 17 ).
Dark chocolate has been shown to contain neurochemicals, such as serotonin, that have a psychoactive and euphoric effect on the mind. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for mood regulation and cognitive function, so it's no surprise that chocolate can immediately boost your mood on a bad day.
Also keep in mind that many products have caffeine, including tea, chocolate, and certain headache medications, and can contribute to anxious feelings.
In one study, subjects who drink the equivalent of 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate daily reported feeling calmer and more content. This is a result of the cocoa in dark chocolate that boosts brain serotonin levels, producing those feelings of calm and bliss we all experience when we bite into a piece of chocolate.
Dark chocolate has long been recognized by psychologists for its mood-altering properties, which include increasing feelings of pleasure and enjoyment [11].
Blueberries
When we're anxious and stressed, our bodies crave vitamin C to help repair and protect our cells, and blueberries are packed full of it. Small but mighty, blueberries are bursting with antioxidants and vitamin C which have been shown to provide anxiety relief.
The B-vitamins in bananas, like folate and vitamin B6, are key to the production of serotonin, which can help improve your mood and reduce anxiety.
Studies show that chamomile can help with symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. While many of the studies on herbal supplements for anxiety are limited, the results are promising. You can find many of these (and other) supplements in capsule (pill) form. Many people also drink herbal teas to help them relax.
If you take magnesium as a supplement, studies that showed that magnesium can have anti-anxiety effects generally used dosages of between 75 and 360 mg a day, according to the 2017 review. It's best to consult a healthcare practitioner before taking any supplement so you know the correct dose for you.
Anxiety happens when a part of the brain, the amygdala, senses trouble. When it senses threat, real or imagined, it surges the body with hormones (including cortisol, the stress hormone) and adrenaline to make the body strong, fast and powerful.