Do you struggle with anxiety? You’re not alone. More than 40 million adults in the US are in the same boat. That’s 18% of the population. But many people report that drug therapies don’t work and can make symptoms worse. The answer to resolving your anxiety could be changing your diet. The GAPS diet can alleviate the symptoms of anxiety by healing your body and mind.

After years of research it’s becoming clear that an important factor in mental health is physical health, especially the health of one’s gut. When your gut isn’t functioning properly you can develop physical and mental problems like anxiety, insomnia and depression. The GAPS diet can heal your gut and help your body function the way it should. That can relieve the symptoms of anxiety and other mental health issues.

What Is the Gaps Diet?

GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome, which links physical health and mental health. It was developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride who studied the link between body and mind for many years and realized that healing the body could heal many mental symptoms as well. The GAPS diet was created to bring balance to the gut and heal the gut wall. The gut wall can be damaged by years of unhealthy Western diets filled with fried and processed foods and very little natural fruit and vegetables. When the gut wall is damaged it develops small holes and tears that allow miniscule food particles to leak out of the gut into the bloodstream. The body attacks these food particles and that can lead to anxiety and other mental conditions as well as physical problems. Switching to the GAPS diet can heal you gut and thus improve your anxiety.

Healing Foods

When you follow the GAPS diet you will be eating a lot of meat that comes from grass fed, hormone free and antibiotic free animals. You will also be eating eggs and fermented dairy foods that come from an organic dairy. It’s important that you eat foods from a reputable farm or brand that doesn’t use processed ingredients. Eating high quality organic fermented dairy foods will help replace the good bacteria in your gut so that your gut can function properly. You will also be drinking bone broth every single day. Bone broth is filled with vitamins and minerals that the body needs and can’t easily get anywhere else. Bone broth also contains gelatin that will heal and seal any holes or tears in the gut wall. Many people report that they see dramatic changes in their physical health within days of switching to the GAPS diet, while for others it may take longer.

When you’re on the GAPS diet you need to avoid all processed food and food that contains any grains and starch. Basically you should avoid anything that is baked or wheat, corn, rice, etc. Even quinoa and buckwheat are not allowed, as they are starchy too and would feed the bad bugs. Many people don’t realize that they are sensitive to grains and other forms of starch, and that eating a diet filled with processed foods that contain starch can make things like anxiety and depression worse.

Get Rid of Your Anxiety for Good

The symptoms of anxiety can be terrible. Mood swings, panic attacks, night sweats, and feelings of doom or even thoughts of suicide plague anxiety sufferers. But it’s possible that a dietary switch can get rid of those symptoms forever. At first you may miss eating bread or other foods that you have been eating all of your life. But as you start to feel better and the symptoms of your anxiety are gradually reduced you will be happy to continue eating healthy foods that will heal your body and get rid of those terrible symptoms of anxiety. Diet plays a huge role in both physical and mental health. There are a lot of excuses that people give for not switching to a healthy diet like the expense of buying healthy food or the need to cook meals from scratch. But the fact is that it’s relatively easy to eat healthy. You can grow many vegetables at home in a backyard garden or even in planters on a patio or balcony. High quality grass fed meat and organic dairy foods are more expensive than regular supermarket meat and dairy. However, when you compare the cost of better quality food to suffering from anxiety, choosing to pay a little more for food that can heal you is a choice that more and more people have been making.

If you have been struggling with anxiety try switching to the GAPS diet even just for a few weeks. Once you experience a life with less panic attacks and anxiety you will want to continue eating healthy food that can heal you instead of eating the toxic processed foods that has contributed to your anxiety. You don’t need drugs to heal your anxiety. You need a diet full of healthy and healing food that will give you back a happier life.