Best Nuts for Anxiety (15+ List)

Here, we are going to explore some of the best nuts for anxiety. These are both nuts and seeds that you can incorporate in your diet to make your anxiety experience smoother. We will cite research publications to explain how each nut helps with anxiety.

What are the Best Nuts for Anxiety?

• Brazil Nuts
• Almonds
• Cashews
• Pine Nuts
• Chia Seeds
• Walnuts
• Hazelnuts
• Peanuts
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Flax Seeds
• Pecans
• Chestnuts
• Macadamia Nuts
• Sesame Seeds
• Poppy Seeds
• Pistachios

Nuts that Help with Anxiety

Doctors and nutritionists very often recommend the regular intake of nuts and seeds for their many health benefits. These are small in size but powerful in terms of their nutrients and can significantly improve health. 

More famous benefits talk about the physiological advantages of eating nuts. However, there are many kinds of nuts that can improve mental health as well. This is especially true for psychological disorders like anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances.

In this list, we have included some of the top nuts that can help you manage your anxiety better:

Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts, as the name suggests, come from the Amazon and are packed with nutrients that help with overall health. They reduce inflammation, support brain function, improve your thyroid function, and increase heart health. 

This recent study also found that eating Brazil nuts can decrease anxiety. This happened because the buts stabilised glucose and insulin production in the body. When we’re anxious, we produce too much of the former and not enough of the latter. Add these tropical nuts to your diet to live a calmer, healthier life.

Almonds

Almonds are a quick source of energy, fiber, protein, and other valuable nutrients. They are rich in magnesium, which is one of the minerals that are deficient in people with anxiety disorders. 

Low levels of magnesium cause the HPA-axis to act up, a physiological reaction to the fight-or-flight response. Almonds also have other health benefits such as lowered blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. They help reduce hunger and promote weight loss.

Cashews

Cashew nuts are full of heart-healthy fats, fiber, and plant-based protein. These are great for vegans as they provide important nutrients that get left out in a cruelty-free diet. Cashew nuts also have mental health benefits as they are packed with magnesium, copper, and manganese. 

Moreover, they’re incredibly tasty and go well with both savory and sweet items. Eat cashews to improve immunity and cognitive functioning as these get compromised on with chronic anxiety.

Pine Nuts

Another good source of much needed magnesium are pine nuts. They also supply other nutrients like iron, protein, antioxidants, and Vitamin E. This investigation found that antioxidants are useful in therapeutic diets for depression and anxiety. 

Vitamin E deficiency has also been associated with anxiety and related mental health conditions. Eating pine nuts helps with anxiety as well as physiological diseases like diabetes and heart problems.

Chia Seeds

These tiny black seeds come from the plant Salvia hispanica, which is related to the mint plant. Historically, chia seeds were significant in Aztec and Mayan diets as a source of sustainable energy. 

In fact, the name ‘chia’ comes from the Mayan word for ‘strength’. Eating these seeds regularly will bring strength to both your body and mind. They are a good source of fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Walnuts

Much like the previous items, walnuts too supply us with antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Kiecolt-Glaser et al demonstrated that Omega-3 reduced up to 20% of anxiety symptoms in subjects.

These nutritional properties also make walnuts great for overall health. Eating walnuts on a daily basis prevents undesirable health conditions like inflammation, diabetes, obesity, and even cancer.

Hazelnuts

Most of us are familiar with hazelnuts because of their common appearance in desserts, coffee, and toppings like Nutella. But these delicious nuts also have plenty of health benefits. They decrease blood fat levels, regulate blood pressure, and reduce inflammation. 

High levels of anxiety can result in these health conditions so eating hazelnuts should help. Unfortunately, most of the world’s supply of hazelnuts comes from Turkey, where they are picked by forced migrant children. This pack, however, comes from ethical farming in Oregon USA.

Peanuts

Also called groundnuts or monkey nuts, these are commonly used to make cooking oil. Roasted peanuts are quite tasty and can be used from crunchiness in salads. Peanuts supply us with fiber, healthy fats, protein, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and B vitamins. 

This 2013 article writes that B vitamins can significantly improve quality of life for people with depression and anxiety. However, one mustn’t eat too many peanuts as they’re high in calories.

Pumpkin Seeds

Recently, healthy food trends have started including pumpkin seeds as an excellent replacement for fatty snacks. Food bloggers worldwide often post about dishes garnished with pumpkin seeds. 

That’s because these medium-sized seeds are rich in many important nutrients like magnesium, fiber, and antioxidants. They lower blood sugar, improve men’s health, and can even prevent some cancers. Studies also show that they effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety.

Flax Seeds

Flax seeds are famous for being loaded with omega-3 fatty acids. These are polyunsaturated fats that play an important role in the human diet. 

Flax seeds have health benefits for conditions like cancer, heart disease, inflammation, mental health, and aging. They also contain high quality protein that is needed for healthy development. Munch on some of these seeds to keep your hands busy when anxiety has you all jittery.

Pecans

If your anxiety is worsened because you’ve recently quit smoking, pecan nuts are perfect for you. Research has found that consumption of pecan nuts can prevent anxiety. Pecans also do a lot of good to your physical health. 

They’re crucial for heart wellness, can boost brain functioning, and are helpful in weight loss. Pecan nuts are full of flavonoids that have a therapeutic effect on emotional stress.They look and taste like walnuts but have a slightly different aftertaste. 

Chestnuts

A chestnut can be of various kinds depending on the tree it comes from. This term refers to smooth-shelled, sweet, edible nuts growing on trees of the Beech family. They are typically brown or reddish in colour and have a mild flavor. 

This makes them suitable for both desserts and savory items. These nuts are a quick source of good health through their antioxidants, magnesium, and potassium.

Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia nuts come all the way from Down Under and are praised for their health advantages. They are good for weight loss, improved gut health, and protection against diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart disease. 

These nuts can be imported as they are, plain and shelled. Or you can find them dipped in chocolate, or covered in spicy flavours of various kinds. This interesting publication speaks of the use of macadamia nuts to cure anxiety related to sex.

Sesame Seeds

This is one of the items on our list that is relatively lower in cholesterol and triglycerides. So don’t think twice before adding it to your salads, baking, and cooking. They leave a lovely aftertaste in your mouth and are great for nutrition. 

Sesame seeds give us B vitamins, reduce blood pressure, improve bone health, promote blood cell production, and lower inflammation. Each of these health benefits goes a long way in fighting with chronic anxiety.

Poppy Seeds

Poppy seeds are mostly known for their importance in bone health and blood clotting. They are particularly rich in manganese, which needs to be taken sufficiently to prevent anxiety. 

Since the poppy plant has sedating properties, you can even include poppy seeds in your diet to improve sleep. Often when one experiences anxiety for long enough, it takes a toll on sleep quality. Eating poppy seeds can help improve such conditions.

Pistachios

A recent experiment found that pistachio consumption can have beneficial effects on both anxiety and memory function. However, further human studies need to be conducted to confirm this effect. 

Nevertheless, pistachios are good for your overall health. These nuts are also bursting with the fiber, minerals, and unsaturated fats. Eating them more often can help keep your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol in check.

Conclusion

Here, we explored some of the best nuts for anxiety. These were both nuts and seeds that you can incorporate in your diet to make your anxiety experience smoother. We cited research publications to explain how each nut helps with anxiety.

The best nuts for anxiety are Brazil Nuts, Almonds, Cashews, Pine Nuts, Chia Seeds, Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Flax Seeds, Pecans, Chestnuts, Macadamia Nuts, Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, and Pistachios

FAQs (Best Nuts for Anxiety)

Citations

• https://chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Nutrients_and_Botanicals_for_Treatment_of_Stress.pdf