If your diet is balanced enough, you may not need this list of useful and necessary supplements at all. Either way, read the article to the end — you may discover which key nutrients you are missing, the ones that can change how you feel right now and free you from anxiety.
A reminder: taking extra vitamins and minerals only helps us obtain the nutrients we need — it is not a substitute for eating properly every day. The best option is to make balanced, healthy eating a habit.
These will help you ease anxiety and worry:
- Vitamin A
- A B-complex
- Vitamin C and other antioxidants
- Vitamin D
- Fish oil
- L-theanine
- Magnesium
Far too often, people who suffer from anxiety overlook vitamin A, which is an antioxidant and has been shown time and again to help reduce anxiety-related symptoms. The average dose is about 10,000 international units (IU), taken as a tablet once a day.
Our body needs all the B vitamins. Many of them are vital for a healthy, robust nervous system. A B-complex will also help reduce symptoms linked to anxiety or low mood. The amount of B vitamins varies from one complex to another. On average you need between 300 mg and 500 mg. Any B-complex can be taken as one tablet a day.
Excess oxidation makes nervousness worse, so antioxidants — vitamin C in particular — will help prevent the disruptions in the nervous system that go with anxiety and worry. The average dose ranges from 500 to 1000 mg. You can split it into two intakes or take the whole dose once a day.
Vitamin D helps the body absorb other vitamins. A vitamin D deficiency can therefore throw the other vitamins out of balance, which only deepens the feeling of unease. The average supplement dose is 1000 to 2000 IU. Any dose can be split into several intakes or taken once a day.
Vitamin E is another antioxidant. Our body uses it up quickly under stress, or when we are anxious and on edge. An extra dose of vitamin E will help restore the balance and ease the symptoms. The average supplement dose is about 400 IU, taken as a tablet once a day.
Fish oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are also antioxidants and help reduce anxiety. The average dose is 2000 mg and can likewise be split into several intakes or taken once a day.
L-theanine is an amino acid found in green tea.
A number of studies have confirmed its calming properties again and again. The average supplement dose is about 200 mg. It is usually taken once a day.
Magnesium is an essential mineral, and more than one article could be devoted to the many ways it keeps us healthy. And although our body does not need magnesium in large amounts, if you are not getting enough of it — and stress burns through magnesium very fast — that alone will heighten your feelings of anxiety and unease. The average supplement dose can range from 100 to 500 mg.
Take care and stay healthy!
