Foods for Reducing Anxiety with Liana Werner-Gray & Jim Kwik

Well, welcome back, and sitting next to me we have a very special guest, actually a return guest to podcasts that we have done.

Mm-hmm.

And we're here with Liana Warner Gray, and so wonderful. Last time we talked about your book Cancer Free with Food, and you have an amazing story, so I recommend you listen to that podcast episode. We also did that in the, in the Kwik Brain Kitchen. Now we're actually going to talk about your other upcoming book, Anxiety-Free with Food, and this is so topical because the theme of today is all about we need a reset.

Mm-hmm.

You know, it's been a pretty challenging year for a lot of people, for the world, for people, you know, our students, our audience who's watching this right now, and we know that food really can be medicine, that what you eat matters, especially for your gray matter, and we were actually in Our kitchen, we're making one of my favorite brain foods, which you say actually supports reducing anxiety, which is dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate or cacao powder, like pure chocolate.

Oh, that's great. So we could be delicious and also nutritious at the same time.

Yes, and that's having our cake and eating it too, or that's heaven on earth, right? If the food is nutritious and delicious at the same time, it's bliss.

So our guests today, they're sharing their recommendations for resetting. You know, you can reset your brain, you can reset your business, you can reset your life, but it really starts with our mood and how we're feeling at any given time. And so how can food help people to reduce the stress and anxiety in their life? Because some foods help to reduce it and some actually create it.

Exactly, yeah. So a lot of science shows us that foods can induce anxiety. They can actually create anxiety, and they're called anxiogenic foods or substances, and they're proven to actually cause anxiety immediately. So as soon as we put them in our mouth, it triggers off our neurotransmitters in a negative way. They're neurotoxins, and it increases our stress levels, and our nervous system gets fired up and creates like a flight or fight response. So obviously we want to stay away from those foods and then—

Now I'm sure people who are watching are curious like what foods in their home are creating that kind of effect because you don't want to add on top of everything that's going on in the world to your— you know, within the external environment, you don't want to add to your internal environment.

Yes.

So what are some of the big culprits?

The biggest neurotoxins are— well, this one is probably not a huge surprise to you guys— is sugar, so refined sugar. So white sugar, corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners like aspartame, Sweet 'n Low, Splenda, those are all really, really bad for the brain and trigger anxiety. But the good news is you can have natural sugars like what we put in the hot chocolate.

Okay.

We did a coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup, stevia, monk fruit. Those are not neurotoxins. So we can switch those sugars out and that's called replacement therapy. So therefore we won't crave Refined white sugar or we won't go like have withdrawal symptoms if we're trying to give up sugar. Wow.

Now let's back up a little bit because I'm sure, you know, as people are commenting in the chats, you know, and you're doing it in the, you know, in the comments section also as well for those of you who are watching this in our private Facebook group, and make sure you share this because we're gonna get really into this. Make sure you're obviously taking notes. We have a lot of great, amazing thousands of people watching this all around the world live. How did you come across this food and anxiety, this connection?

Yeah. Well, I've always done books on food as medicine because I healed myself, as we talked about in the last podcast, of a tumor when I was 21 with food. So I'm a huge advocate for food as medicine and food as power, and I really believe that food does create our chemistry in our body and our brain chemistry. my— I was talking to my publisher and they're like, well, what do you want to write about next? And I have been wanting to write about food and mood and food connected to depression and anxiety for many years. So I was like, you know what, this is the time to do it. And now because of this year during the pandemic, anxiety stats have gone so crazy.

Yeah.

And the, the stats are showing that 1 in 3 people have anxiety, like severe anxiety. So I really dove into the researchers and the science behind it. And more than any other health subject on earth, there is more evidence that shows that food can help reduce anxiety than any other health issue— more than cancer or psoriasis or acne or any other health issue. It all shows that food really does support our mood and our mental health.

And it's an amazing reboot because our guests today, they're talking about how to restart their, their brains or their business or their bodies or something And some are taking it from a breathing standpoint or how they move their physical body. Other people are talking about the power of meditation, but the power of food— literally what you eat becomes you.

Yeah, I definitely believe that we are what we eat for sure. We're also what we think and what we breathe as well, but food is something that everyone is doing 3 times a day or more. It's something that people are doing always and are just maybe not aware of like how much it's Affecting their mental health.

So as we're doing this mental reboot, sometimes when we unplug something or restart something, it tends to work sometimes a little bit better. So we're stopping things like sugar. Are there any other foods that you would recommend in this conversation? I know you have plenty in the book.

Yeah, I list them all in the book. So basically, we want to stay away from processed foods, so foods that have a lot of preservatives or additives or foods that were created in a lab. So we want to get back to nature and eating as many whole foods as possible. So processed foods, especially with a lot of gluten, and also commercial dairy is also not good for anxiety and depression.

And then on the other side of it, so it's not only subtracting those things but then adding the good stuff.

Yeah, so adding the good stuff. It's more fun to talk about that part. So in the book, I list the top 10 foods that have been shown to reduce anxiety and stress levels in the body. And yes, I'm sure you're intrigued. I can see he's like, what are those foods?

At least some of them, you know, because you have wonderful recipes and everything in there. But what are some of your favorites on that list?

So out of the 10, I would say my favorites—

Besides cacao.

Yeah. So cacao is definitely my favorite. Also dark leafy greens. Dark leafy greens is number one for reducing anxiety because it contains all the anxiety-reducing elements including magnesium, a lot of antioxidants, and dark leafy greens can be broccoli, spinach, kale, spirulina, chlorella, and we can get it from eating them or if we drink a juice or a smoothie or we could take a supplement as well.

And how would you—

so if the parents are watching and they can't get their their kids maybe to eat the kale or something like that. Is there any way, is there any like little tips on how to make it even more palatable?

Yes, how to make kale tasty.

Okay, kale. Kale is a great brain food.

Yeah, so one way to do it is tear it off the stem and then tear it off into little pieces and then massage avocado in the kale.

Ooh.

Yeah, and then the kale will become soft. And it doesn't have that strong bitter texture or flavor, and it will soften. And then I have a recipe for superfood kale salad in the book that has some nutritional yeast, some apple cider vinegar, some amino acids, some sun butter, some pumpkin seeds. So it's a delicious, creamy, very fulfilling salad. And this is— a lot of people say this is their soul salad and what helps convert them into liking salads.

It's a brain salad too, listening to those ingredients.

Yeah, major brain salad. It has all the elements for reducing anxiety.

What kind of oil do you use for the salad dressing?

So because it's massaged in the avocado— Oh, it has the avocado oil. Yeah, so it releases the oil so it doesn't need the dressing. But then I'll make the dressing with apple cider vinegar, amino acids, and some sun butter. And sun butter also has some oils in it from the sunflower seeds and so it makes a really nice creamy salad dressing.

And people could have more. I mean, that's a fun, easy way to add your green leafy vegetables, your dark green through a salad or a smoothie.

Or juice or taking supplements. Yeah.

There are a lot of choices.

Yeah.

I think flexibility is so important for when we're going for that reboot or that reset. We don't have to do everything, but we need to do something that we can do consistently?

Yes. And so sometimes people ask me, okay, I can't do everything, and it's overwhelming also for a lot of people to make all their food changes. So they say, what's one thing if I'm going to change in my diet? And I always say, just add a green drink to your diet every day. That's it. Because if you do that, that's going to take care of a lot of things. It'll give you magnesium, it'll give you a lot of nutrients. It also gives you a lot of live energy because a juice or a smoothie is live. It's technically raw. So just add that. You could even just do chlorophyll drops in water, or you could do a greens powder in water. And since I've been working on this book this year, I started taking all of these supplements. And a great way to do it is to take a spirulina or chlorella green supplement because then you don't even taste it. You just get it in, get it down. And since working on this book, Jim, I was taking like 20 different supplements. I was experimenting. So then I created my own formula. So now I have my own supplements that come out in December that have chlorella and spirulina because people aren't eating greens every day. And so supplements is just such a great way just to pop them in. You don't have to think about it, and then you're getting your greens every day.

So the idea when you're resetting is to find something that really— that works for you.

Yes.

And can they rate their anxiety? I know this kind of question is kind of interesting because some people They might not see their levels go down if they're not consciously aware of it. And then can people— do they keep a journal or how would you recommend?

Yeah, people can keep a journal or just check in with themselves. People with anxiety, they know right away what their level is, 10 being just really paralyzing anxiety and 5 being medium, 0 being completely in the bliss state. So people can check in right now and just kind of see where your anxiety levels are. And then you'll notice after you have a green juice or a hot chocolate, your levels can come down even up to 4 points. It could go from a 10 to a 6 just from having—

Yeah, I noticed because this is, you know, where we've been on camera, you know, for this day. We're kind of gearing up for it, that once I started drinking your— the hot chocolate, it just felt like A little like more calm and relaxed.

Yes, that's awesome. Yeah, that's great. I mean, food is medicine and that's what it's meant to do.

Fantastic, fantastic. So in terms of a reset, I'd love to give everybody an assignment. So they have comments down below, you know, where they're watching this or in the chat. Is there something you want to ask them or challenge them to do? One simple tiny step?

Yeah.

Or maybe we'll share it. This one is powerful. I don't know if it's simple, but let me, let me share it and then see what you guys think. Okay, so, so from when I was researching in the book, I was like, why do people have anxiety? And there's many reasons, and it can come from past traumas, it can come from emotional, mental, but also a lot of people's anxiety is purely physical. It's just because of their diet that they have anxiety and no other reason. So if that's the case, we can find out, and the way to do that is a blood test.

Okay.

So I would recommend getting a blood test done, and if you are deficient in omega fatty acids, aminos, magnesium, and vitamin D, chances are you have anxiety. And so if that's the case, that's an easy fix because now you can just take supplements or eat those foods that have those elements. And it's going to correct your brain chemistry.

I mean, I would definitely recommend talking to a health practitioner and there you could have a nutrient profile done to see if you are deficient in certain vitamins and minerals.

Yes, talk to your doctor and they can do the blood panel for you.

And food sensitivity. For some people, they react differently in terms of their ability to digest certain foods. But that's fantastic. And I would also recommend to everybody, it's not just What you eat, it's also how you eat. I think a lot of people are stressed out because of how they're eating. They're not present, you know, or they're on their phone or they're watching television, doing this thing. They're not even tasting the food really because they're not even like digesting the food. They're not chewing. How many times are you supposed to chew like food before you swallow? They say like your gut doesn't have teeth.

As much as possible, yeah. And if we just eat, like inhale our food, and if we're looking at our phone or TV—

Yeah, that creates stress.

It creates a stressed-out gut, which creates a stressed-out mind. So definitely want to like— it's a very special time when we eat or consume food. It's, you know, it is like medicine. So we can really take that time and just like peace out and enjoy it, and the digestion will be a lot better.

100%. So in the chat, I would love for people to share what their favorite anxiety-free That's a great idea.

Yeah.

So what would your food that was mentioned— would it be the dark leafy greens? Would it be the dark chocolate? Would it be— what are some of your favorites? I like avocados.

Avocados, coconut, coconut oil, olive oil, also turmeric.

Oh, these are all the best brain foods also.

Turmeric is a great one. Yeah, yeah. That's why when I created the list and then I was looking up what you were saying about your top foods, they're all anxiety-relieving. Brain-producing foods, blueberries as well.

I like to call them brain berries. But the idea here is what you eat matters, especially for your gray matter, and it's so very important. So thank you so much. How do people find out about— can they preorder the book now?

Yes, the book is available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes& Noble, or any bookstore.

Yeah, and I think it's important to reduce that stress and anxiety because, you know, we're talking about when you need to perform your best. We don't always do it when we're in fight or flight. You're not going to study really well for that exam or give that best presentation that you need to do for work or be that great partner that you desire and you deserve when we're coming from that stressed-out state.

Mm-hmm.

And if food's contributing to that, this is just a little bit of a wake-up call just to kind of check in. Sometimes when we're— part of this reset is just seeing what we're doing. And checking to see if those habits, those thoughts, those behaviors are serving our best version of ourself.

Mm-hmm, yeah.

Yeah.

Love it, our healthiest, best version, for sure. Eat some dark chocolate and green juice.

There you go. Liana, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

Cheers. To your health. We will be back in a little bit, so we're just gonna reset and We'll see you in a few.

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