3 Ways Changing My Diet Calmed My Anxiety

I recently hit a wall with chronic gastrointestinal issues. As someone who works in yoga and fitness, I recognized that my quality of life could be better. I just didn’t know how.

If you suffer from any such issues — for me, gastritis, heartburn, getting "hangry" in the middle of the day — you know how frustrating it is. Brain fog is constant; motivation is sapped when your intestines are churning. I would power through my day, using intense morning workouts for an energizing boost but ending my day exhausted.

Three weeks ago I stumbled into a talk with Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint. The same day a friend of mine recommended Bulletproof Radio, Bulletproof Coffee founder Dave Asprey’s podcast. I was familiar with both men. Given that I was vegetarian and they were espousing the benefits of variations of the Paleo diet, I never paid them any mind. Yet I caught them both discussing their own chronic GI problems and the methods they used in overcoming them.

During one grocery shopping trip, I became amazed at how much grain I was putting into my body on a daily basis. Add to this the high level of carbohydrates in vegetables; I realized I was keeping myself in a constant state of inflammation.

It’s important to note that everyone's microbiome is different; we all process nutrients in a way that reflects genetics and personal history. Within eight days I dropped 8 pounds of what I’m guessing was inflammation. More importantly, my energy levels soared, the stomach churning and its attendant misery gone.

Our bodies convert grain into sugars. I was eating a heavy-carb load, with many of my calories derived from vegetables and a few pieces of fruit every day: one or two bananas, a handful of blueberries and strawberries, an apple, the occasional pineapple. This sugar-heavy regimen was keeping my body in constant fight-flight-freeze mode. Of course I was always on edge.

In the three weeks since dropping grains, my parasympathetic nervous system has been a friend instead of a persistent threat lurking in the shadows of my subconscious.

I’m not envisioning a life without grains. Mark Sisson’s 80/20 rule seems feasible: eat a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb diet 80 percent of the time. I’m giving myself a month off completely and then adding in different grains on occasion to see how my system reacts. By reducing my carb intake and massively increasing fats — a few spoonfuls of coconut butter can do wonders — I'm now burning the proper nutrients in my workouts, sans the brain fog.