Comment: yes, we will try peas this week at school. I’ll serve them with a toothpick for some plate fun. Interesting how valuable some of these things are.

Nature packages green peas in several different forms all of which have a vibrantly delicious flavor, wonderful texture and a wealth of health-promoting nutrients. Garden peas are generally available from spring through the beginning of winter.

Legumes are plants that bear fruit in the form of pods enclosing the fleshy seeds we know as beans. Peas are one of the few members of the legume family that are sold and cooked as fresh vegetables. However, only about 5% of the peas grown are sold fresh; the rest are either frozen or canned. Frozen peas are preferable to canned peas as they retain their flavor and have lower sodium content.

• Health Benefits
• Description
• History
• How to Select and Store
• How to Enjoy
• Safety
• Nutritional Profile
• References

Health Benefits

Green peas are bursting with nutrients. They provide good to very good amounts of 8 vitamins, 7 minerals, dietary fiber and protein. Green peas’ supercharged nutritional profile can supercharge your health.

Helping You Bone Up

Green peas provide nutrients that are important for maintaining bone health. They are a very good source of vitamin K1, which activates osteocalcin, the major non-collagen protein in bone. Osteocalcin anchors calcium molecules inside of the bone. Therefore, without enough vitamin K1, osteocalcin levels are inadequate and bone mineralization is impaired.

Green peas also serve as a very good source of folic acid and a good source of vitamin B6. These two nutrients help to reduce the buildup of a metabolic byproduct called homocysteine, a dangerous molecule can obstruct collagen cross-linking, resulting in poor bone matrix and osteoporosis. One study showed that postmenopausal women who were not considered deficient in folic acid lowered their homocysteine levels simply by supplementing with folic acid by itself.

Help Your Heart by Passing the Peas, Please

In addition to affecting bone health, homocysteine contributes to atherosclerosis through its ability to damage the blood vessels, keeping them in a constant state of injury. Therefore the folic acid and vitamin B6 in green peas are supportive of cardiovascular health as well. In fact, folic acid is so important for cardiovascular function that a major 1995 study concluded that 400 micrograms per day of folic acid could prevent 28,000 cardiovascular deaths per year in the United States.

The contributions of green peas to heart health do not stop there. The vitamin K featured in green peas is instrumental to the body’s healthy blood clotting ability.

Contributions to Energy and Overall Wellness

Green peas are one of the important foods to include in your diet if you oftentimes feel fatigued and sluggish. That is because they provide nutrients that help support the energy-producing cells and systems of the body.

Green peas a very good source of thiamin-vitamin B1 and a good source of vitamin B6, riboflavin-vitamin B2 and niacin-vitamin B3, all of which are nutrients that are necessary for carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism. Green peas are also a good source of iron, a mineral necessary for normal blood cell formation and function, whose deficiency results in anemia, fatigue, decreased immune function, and learning problems. In addition, green peas are a very good source of vitamin C, which protects many energy-producing cells and systems in the body from free radical damage. Body tissues with particularly high vitamin C requirements include the adrenal glands, ocular lens, liver, immune system, connective tissues, and fats circulating in the blood.

Peas Promote Optimal Health

Green peas provide nutrients, including vitamin C, which are instrumental in helping to prevent the development of cancer. A high intake of vitamin C has been shown to reduce the risks for virtually all forms of cancer, including leukemia, lymphoma, and lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers as well as sex hormone-related cancers like breast, prostate, cervix, and ovarian cancers. Vitamin C is your body’s first and most effective line of antioxidant protection. Vitamin C protects cell structures like DNA from damage; it helps the body deal with environmental pollution and toxic chemicals; it enhances immune function, and it inhibits the formation of cancer-causing compounds in the body (such as the nitrosamines, chemicals produced when the body digests processed meats containing nitrates).

Description

When most people think of peas, they remember them as the food that they loved to hate when they were children, yet one that was extremely fun to play with on their plates. Yet, many of these same people, since they have become adults, have a renewed appreciation for this vibrant and delicious legume due to its wonderful taste and texture. There are generally three types of peas that are commonly eaten: garden or green peas, snow peas and snap peas.

Garden peas have rounded pods that are usually slightly curved in shape with a smooth texture and vibrant green color. Inside of them are green rounded pea seeds that are sweet and starchy in taste. Snow peas are flatter than garden peas, and since they are not fully opaque, you can usually see the shadows of the flat peas seeds within. Snap peas, a cross between the garden and snow pea, have plump pods with a crisp, snappy texture. The pods of both snow peas and snap peas are edible, and both feature a slightly sweeter and cooler taste than the garden pea. Garden peas are scientifically known as Pisum sativum.

History

The modern-day garden pea is thought to have originated from the field pea that was native to central Asia and Europe and has been consumed by man for thousands and thousands of years. In fact, peas are mentioned in the Bible and were prized by the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Yet, it was not until the 16th century, when cultivation techniques created more tender varieties, that people began to consume peas in their fresh state as opposed to just eating dried peas. It seems that the Chinese, a culture that had consumed this legume as far back as 2000 BC, were the first ones to consume both the seeds and the pods as a vegetable.

The French king Louis XIV popularized peas in the 17th century by making them an item of high regard on the menus of parties held at his palace; it is suggested that snow peas were developed in Holland around the same time. Peas were introduced into United States soon after the colonists first settled in this country.

In the 19th century during the early developments of the study of genetics, peas played an important role. The monk and botanist, Gregor Mendel used peas in his plant-breeding experiments.

It was only recently, in the 1970s, that sugar snap peas were developed, the result of a cross between garden peas and snow peas. Today, the largest commercial producers of fresh peas are the United States, Great Britain, China, Hungary and India.

How to Select and Store

When purchasing garden peas, look for ones whose pods are firm, velvety and smooth. Their color should be a lively medium green. Those whose green color is especially light or dark, or those that are yellow, whitish or are speckled with gray, should be avoided. Additionally, do not choose pods that are puffy, water soaked or have mildew residue. The pods should contain peas of sufficient number and size that there is not much empty room in the pod. You can tell this by gently shaking the pod and noticing whether there is a slight rattling sound. All varieties of fresh peas should be displayed in a refrigerated case since heat will hasten the conversion of their sugar content into starch.

Unlike the rounded pods of garden peas, the pods of snow peas are flat. You should be able to see the shape of the peas through the non-opaque shiny pod. Choose smaller ones as they tend to be sweeter.

To test the quality of snap peas, snap one open and see whether it is crisp. They should be bright green in color, firm and plump.

Garden peas are generally available from spring through the beginning of winter. Snow peas can usually be found throughout the year in Asian markets and from spring through the beginning of winter in supermarkets. Snap peas are more limited in their availability. They are generally available from late spring through early summer.

If you will not be using fresh peas on the day of purchase, which is the best way to enjoy them, you should refrigerate them as quickly as possible in order to preserve their sugar content, preventing it from turning into starch. Unwashed, unshelled peas stored in the refrigerator in a bag or unsealed container will keep for several days. Fresh peas can also be blanched for one or two minutes and then frozen.

How to Enjoy

For some of our favorite recipes, click Recipes.

Tips for Preparing Green Peas:

Before you remove the peas from the pod, rinse them briefly under running water. To easily shell them, snap off the top and bottom of the pod and then gently pull off the “thread” that lines the seam of most peapods. For those that do not have “threads,” carefully cut through the seam, making sure not to cut into the peas. Gently open the pods to remove the seeds, which do not need to be washed since they have been encased in the pod.

The classic way of cooking garden peas is to line a saucepan with several leaves of washed Boston or Bibb lettuce and then place the peas on the lettuce. You can then add fresh herbs and spices if you desire. Cover the peas with more lettuce leaves, add one or two tablespoons of water, and cover the pan. Cook the peas for about 15 to 20 minutes, after which they should be tender and flavorful.

Snow peas and snap peas can be eaten raw, although the cooking process will cause them to become sweeter. Either way, they should be rinsed beforehand. Healthy Sautéing is one of the best ways to cook these types of peas.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

Add some fresh peas to green salads.

Healthy sauté snap peas with shiitake mushrooms.

Mix green peas with chicken, diced onions and almonds to make a delicious and colorful chicken salad.

Mix snow peas in with your favorite vegetable healthy stir-fries.

Fresh pea pods are a great food to pack in a lunch box.

Safety

Green Peas and Purines

Green peas contain naturally-occurring substances called purines. Purines are commonly found in plants, animals, and humans. In some individuals who are susceptible to purine-related problems, excessive intake of these substances can cause health problems. Since purines can be broken down to form uric acid, excess accumulation of purines in the body can lead to excess accumulation of uric acid. The health condition called “gout” and the formation of kidney stones from uric acid are two examples of uric acid-related problems that can be related to excessive intake of purine-containing foods. For this reason, individuals with kidney problems or gout may want to limit or avoid intake of purine-containing foods such as green peas. For more on this subject, please see “What are purines and in which foods are they found?”

Nutritional Profile

Introduction to Food Rating System Chart

The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good or good source. Next to the nutrient name you will find the following information: the amount of the nutrient that is included in the noted serving of this food; the %Daily Value (DV) that that amount represents (similar to other information presented in the website, this DV is calculated for 25-50 year old healthy woman); the nutrient density rating; and, the food’s World’s Healthiest Foods Rating. Underneath the chart is a table that summarizes how the ratings were devised. Read detailed information on our Food and Recipe Rating System.

Anxiety in women — causes, symptoms and natural relief

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP

Many women operate in an ever-present state of low anxiety, also called generalized anxiety, that may blossom into episodes of full-blown panic attacks, phobia or anxiety disorders during times of psychological stress or biological change — like menopause.

A majority of my patients with chronic anxiety are so accustomed to living with it — often since childhood — that they don’t even mention it until I ask or until they begin perimenopause and their anxiety symptoms worsen.

Anxiety is a knot of both emotions and physiology. Most early psychologists viewed anxiety as purely emotional: the outward sign of repressed negative feelings and inner conflict. But over 30 years of scientific research into severe anxiety disorders and panic attacks has established that all anxiety has a real, physiological cause that is just as important to treat — especially for relief of anxiety related to hormonal imbalance.

This is good news. It means that anxiety symptoms that were once dismissed as character flaws (think of the terms “worry wart”, “head case” and “control freak”) are not feelings you just have to live with or medicate when they get too severe for you to function. There’s a lot more to the story — and a lot that you can do to get that monkey of anxiety off your back.

What is anxiety?

Everyone experiences anxiety or feels panicky from time to time: the shaky knees and thudding heart, the shortness of breath, the mind going a million miles per hour. Part of what keeps us alive is our ability to feel fear. In fact, we are made with a kind of built-in alarm system that brings the full weight of our mental and physical prowess to bear in the face of danger — the “fight or flight” response.

The limbic system, the parts of the brain responsible for orchestrating our emotions, including the fight or flight response, relies on a complicated interplay between neurotransmitters and hormones to fuel the body and mind to deal with a perceived enemy.

What’s not natural is to feel afraid and upset most of the time without any tangible cause. Like our immune response, our fight or flight response is meant to click into action in the face of danger and then rest. But in our day and age, too many of us never get to relax: our minds are perpetually on high alert with the accompanying physical response.

It’s no exaggeration to say there is an epidemic of anxiety. Over 19 million American adults and millions of children have anxiety disorders ranging from mild to severe. And the statistics only count the people reporting their anxiety symptoms to doctors. I know from my practice that there are many more on the mild to moderate scale who feel reluctant or even ashamed to admit their anxiety.

Our culture tells us that feelings of fear, vulnerability, and even shyness are signs of weakness — which makes anxiety the fault of the victim. Women are taught from childhood to “grin and bear it.” The people who accuse us of medicalizing anxiety are not being helpful. The truth is that telling women to suffer through anxiety is just as terrible as telling them that drugs are the only remedy for anxiety and panic attacks. Neither is correct.

Let’s start by looking at the major types and symptoms of anxiety and then examine the real roots of anxiety. That’s where we’ll find solutions.

Severe anxiety disorders

Severe panic and anxiety disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social phobias, and stress disorders affect only a small minority of anxiety sufferers. (Click here for a brief overview of severe anxiety disorders.)

Severe anxiety disorders are highly treatable but require medical diagnosis. If you think you may be experiencing any of these disorders, contact your healthcare practitioner right away. Different approaches that include drugs and cognitive-behavioral therapies (such as exposure therapy) are proving to be very successful.

One hot topic of study is the connection between anxiety disorders and genetics, because anxiety disorders clearly run in families. At Women to Women, we think genes are a factor in some anxiety disorders, but generally not the most important factor. More often than not, anxious women grew up in anxious households. Anxiety is usually a learned behavior that can be unlearned — even when it’s severe. We’ll return to this topic after we explore generalized anxiety disorder, which affects many more women than the severe anxiety disorders.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Mild to moderate anxiety is far more common but harder to identify than severe anxiety disorder. Called generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, it’s characterized by compulsive worrying and physical symptoms of anxiety which persist for more than six months. Often these women were anxious — and medicated — as children, suffered some form of childhood trauma, or grew up in anxiety-ridden households.

More often than not, my patients are so used to their anxious feelings that they don’t mention them until I ask. That’s because while anxiety can be debilitating — and may grow increasingly so if left untreated — symptoms of mild to moderate anxiety may not obviously impact your ability to function.

In fact, quite the opposite may seem to be true. Often it is the high-achieving, seemingly “together” woman who finds it difficult to admit she has chronic anxiety. And frequently I see dynamic, non-stop women who rarely felt anxious in their younger lives get slammed with anxiety and panic attacks as they enter perimenopause.

These signs of anxiety can be misread at the doctor’s office precisely because these women appear to be such powerhouses. So let’s find out what the symptoms of anxiety really are.

Symptoms of anxiety and panic attack

While most of us will experience episodes in which we feel some or all of these symptoms, what differentiates healthy anxiety and/or panic from chronic anxiety and panic attacks is the trigger. If you think you hear a strange sound in the night, it’s natural to wake up with a start, your heart pounding and your muscles seizing. But it’s unhealthy to have these symptoms while sitting at a table in a restaurant.

One of my patients describes her chronic anxiety as a kind of internal grinding — an all-consuming revving up of energy that then has nowhere to go. Other symptoms of generalized anxiety and panic attacks include:

• Irrational fear or dread
• Muscle tension and headache
• Chest pain
• Elevated heart rate/palpitations
• Insomnia
• Diarrhea/GI distress/IBS
• Nausea
• A feeling of fullness or chest pressure/shortness of breath
• Jumpiness/irritability/shakiness
• Sudden changes in body temperature/hot flashes
• Tearfulness
• Depression — about 20–30% of people with anxiety disorders also suffer from depression.

Usually one of the things you don’t feel when you’re anxious is tired or hungry — until you eventually crash, feel more tired than ever, and then crave sugar to restore your mood.

How does a normal anxious feeling become chronic anxiety?

As we’ve said, anxiety is a knot of emotions and physiology. The root cause of the anxiety could arise on the emotional side or the physical side — or both.

The feeling of anxiety always begins with a trigger that initiates a survival response from the limbic system. At the first whiff of apparent danger, your brain chemistry, blood hormones and cellular metabolism all whirl into action.

When you have chronic anxiety, this response may lessen but it never gets turned off, even when there’s no palpable threat. Over time your anxiety symptoms may be triggered by less and less serious events because your limbic system has been sensitized to react in a highly anxious way.

For example, if you were constantly yelled at as a child, you may feel anxious later in life whenever there is potential for confrontation with an authority figure — and you may go to extremes to avoid that confrontation, even in a situation as seemingly benign as returning an article of clothing that doesn’t fit. By this point your conscious mind has lost track of the link between your current feeling and your past emotional experience — you no longer have any idea why you’re anxious about something that shouldn’t be a cause of anxiety.

The problem with anxiety is that it becomes so easily entrenched — it becomes your normal state. The links among your neurotransmitters, hormones and metabolism become tuned to an equilibrium in which anxiety is maintained. That’s why anxiety relief is all about changing the physical and emotional causes of your anxiety and creating a new, healthier equilibrium. But first let’s explore more deeply what causes anxiety.

Anxiety and emotional experience

Early emotional experience is the wellspring for anxiety. The experience may be a major childhood trauma (the death of a parent, divorce, child abuse or sexual abuse, etc.), emotional abuse (constant criticism, abandonment, deprivation), or emotional patterning (anxious parent, alcoholic parent). These adverse emotional experiences can set up a pattern of chronic anxiety.

Childhood is a time of little power and control. When terrible things happen to us as children, our coping mechanisms are not up to it. We can’t process what’s happened and move on in a healthy way. In a very real sense, that adverse childhood experience is trapped inside us. In adulthood, those hidden issues often surface as anxiety symptoms. It may be difficult to connect what is triggering your anxiety to what came before — but there is always a link.

I think of one patient who had very controlling parents. She was charming, bubbly, warm and gregarious (the way her parents wanted her to be) — and exceedingly anxious all the time. Even as an adult she was still performing for others — not living her own life at all — and had little knowledge of what was wrong except for a feeling that she was a fraud. She married a very controlling man (continuing the pattern) and developed a compulsive eating disorder which caused rectal bleeding and other problems.

Her tests showed that her adrenals were exhausted, her serotonin was extremely low, and the foods she was eating were throwing her digestive and limbic system completely out of balance. Once she began to support her neurotransmitters through diet and nutritional supplements, she had the strength to begin therapy. Through the “talking cure” she was able to find her own power within the balance of her family. Her gastrointestinal problems went away, her anxiety and compulsive eating lessened and she had the physical health to back up her newfound mental strength — all without using anxiety medication.

In my experience, you can’t wrangle with anxiety unless you are willing to approach it from many sides. This can take some work — something conventional doctors tend to stay clear of. Antidepressants are given out like candy to anxiety patients to calm their physical symptoms, but in order to find complete anxiety relief — no matter what kind of anxiety symptoms you’re feeling — you must deal with the emotional piece.

(To learn more, read our library article about the effect of emotional experience on health.)

The physical factors behind anxiety

Women have been taught for so long that anxiety is all in their heads that I’d like to spend a few moments talking about how anxiety is everywhere — in your brain, your pituitary gland, your adrenals, your GI system, your heart, and your ovaries too! And of course, they’re all interrelated.

1. Neurotransmitters and anxiety. A neurotransmitter imbalance can sensitize your brain to a fear response. Consistently high levels of excitatory neurotransmitters (for example, norepinephrine and epinephrine) and correspondingly low levels of the calming, inhibitory neurotransmitters (such as serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA) actually modify your brain chemistry. At Women to Women, we run a neurotransmitter test on every patient with symptoms of anxiety. The test provides only a snapshot of these levels and is controversial, but it can be very useful in the hands of an experienced professional in guiding targeted neurotransmitter support.

Caffeine affects brain chemistry by raising levels of dopamine; in sufficient amounts, coffee and other caffeine-laden drinks can bring on panic attack symptoms. The jitteriness you feel from a shot of espresso comes from elevated dopamine. The neurotransmitter imbalances that cause anxiety are related to those in children with ADHD and ADD (conditions also associated with high dopamine); in fact, what may look like ADD in some children may actually be related to severe anxiety. The symptoms can be very similar.

Popular anti-anxiety medications like BuSpar, Ativan, Valium, and Xanax work on these neurotransmitters. (Click here for a more complete list of anxiolytics.) Alcohol works in the same manner by raising levels of GABA. That’s why a drink helps you overcome your social discomfort and unwind, while more than a few causes slurred speech, slow reflexes, and a decrease in cognitive ability.

The fear-anxiety neural pathway is very easily influenced. This means that anti-anxiety medications (particularly benzodiazepines), caffeine, and alcohol are highly addictive. It makes sense that people who inherit or develop anxiety-sensitive brains also have a higher risk for addiction.

2. The HPA axis and anxiety. Along with your neurotransmitters, your hormones play a crucial role in mediating anxiety. The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is the hormonal system that influences mood. Imbalances along this system can bring on panic attacks and chronic anxiety.

As part of the cascade of hormones in the fight-or-flight response, your hypothalamus releases a hormone called corticotropin–releasing factor (CRF), which jolts you into action. CRF flows through your pituitary gland, where it stimulates adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which in turn tells your adrenal glands to release cortisol. Cortisol opens the gates for a rush of glucose, fat, and protein to give your cells the energy and alertness they need.

In a healthy system, the hormonal flood recedes once the threat is disabled. But different factors can disrupt this pathway, causing the gates to stay open and running the adrenals to exhaustion. Levels of ACTH and cortisol stay elevated, causing anxiety, weight gain, accelerated aging, and metabolic imbalances. (Click here for more information on adrenal fatigue.)

CRF also seems to be a factor in anxiety. People with high anxiety generally have high levels of CRF — which indicates that the HPA axis is always on. Researchers think that early emotional trauma may trigger elevated levels of CRF, which the body then maintains through adulthood.

3. Estrogen, progesterone, menopause and anxiety. Clearly, sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone play a critical role in anxiety. Women are more than twice as likely as men to feel anxiety, especially during the hormonal ups and downs of PMS, perimenopause, and menopause. Anxiety is often the first sign of perimenopause. Many women experience rampant anxiety symptoms when they first wean off HRT.

A recent study showed that anxious women are more likely to suffer uncomfortable hot flashes during perimenopause. In another study, baby rats of both sexes were deprived of maternal attention at birth. When they grew up, the female rats showed measurable signs of anxiety and stress when tested in a maze, whereas the male rats did not.

Estrogen is tied in to serotonin levels — as any woman who has ever suffered mood swings with her monthly cycles can attest. What you know instinctively, science is beginning to prove. Natural progesterone also has a soothing, calming effect on your system similar to and interdependent with neurotransmitters — when levels fall, so do our moods and energy levels. Estrogen and progesterone levels are directly influenced by the adrenals and cortisol overproduction. (For more information, see our article on adrenal exhaustion.)

But in my experience, menopause doesn’t actually cause anxiety — it simply amplifies what was already there. That’s why relief from menopausal anxiety and panic attacks is found only after restoring hormonal balance.

4. Nutrition, digestion and anxiety. I saw a new patient, Sue, with digestive and bowel problems. She was in a very high-profile marriage, the mother of three kids, and — on the surface — a total go-getter. She eventually told me that her anxiety was so severe that she was on five different psychotropic drugs. She felt she had never been able to “do life.”

After a lengthy discussion, Sue went into therapy and began a course of treatment that included weaning slowly off her medication and supporting her system with supplements and good nutrition. She began to exercise regularly and examine some of the stress in her life. Little by little her anxiety decreased and then disappeared — and so did her bowel problems.

Most of the chronically anxious patients I see have some form of GI problem, whether it’s nervous stomach, IBS, diarrhea, nausea, bloating or bleeding — anxiety seems to take its first foothold in the gut. And if your GI tract is upset, it is almost impossible to feel well — which can add to the anxiety!

In some people, food allergies and food sensitivities trigger anxiety symptoms, much like dust triggers an asthma attack. Your nutrition heavily influences your mood. And the gut is a source of serotonin, the major hormone of mood. Your digestive system is intricately tied into your hormonal balance, your brain chemistry, and your moods.

Dr. Abraham Hoffer, a pioneer in the connection between nutrition and mental disorders, discovered in 1960 the link between a niacin deficiency and the improper conversion of adrenaline in the brain that leads to psychosis. If administered early in a diagnosis, Dr. Hoffer found that over 90% of his mentally ill patients were effectively treated with nutrition therapy. There are many similar links between nutrition and neurotransmitters.

The Pfeiffer Treatment Center has had enormous success treating adults and children with anxiety through nutrient therapy. A great deal of research is underway examining the connection between essential fatty acids and inflammation, which includes brain and gut inflammation that relates to anxiety disorders. We recommend that everyone include these essential acids in their daily routine.

The risks and benefits of anti-anxiety medications (anxiolytics)

Medication is being prescribed with abandon for anxiety. Scared of flying? Take a Xanax. Can’t sleep? Take an Ambien. Shy at parties? Try a BuSpar.

While I am very much in favor of using a limited course of medication to help cope with severe physical symptoms of anxiety, I am really concerned about the widespread use of medication for generalized anxiety.

Anti-anxiety medications are particularly habit-forming and they do nothing to reboot the neural and hormonal pathways for long-term mental health — they simply disrupt the pathway and mask the symptoms of anxiety so you can function.

While this can be a good tool in the short term while you work on your nutritional and emotional fundamentals, anxiolytics are not a smart solution for the long haul. Moreover, in many cases of menopause-related anxiety, anti-anxiety meds like Xanax and Ativan can actually make your symptoms worse. At some point, as a culture and as individuals, we have to stop taking pills and start looking at the root of our problems.

I occasionally prescribe anti-anxiety medicine for generalized anxiety for my patients who feel completely paralyzed by their symptoms. For them, a brief course of drugs helps calm their neurotransmitters, enabling them to function enough to begin making better lifestyle and diet choices, enter into therapy, and follow a supplement and exercise regime. However, I constantly monitor their progress and when we agree they are ready, they stop the anxiolytics. Usually with great success.

If you are currently on anti-anxiety medication, do not stop without supervision from a medical professional. However, you can explore other options to support your body and rebalance your system naturally so that when you do stop your medication you won’t suffer a recurrence of your anxiety.

Anxiety relief: natural treatments for anxiety

Relief from chronic anxiety comes from restoring your body’s natural, healthy equilibrium. You can do that through change in a number of factors: lifestyle, diet, allergies, exercise levels, hormonal balance, general physical health, and your emotional history.

At our practice, we treat anxiety with nutrition and nutritional supplements, some prescription medications, emotional work and bodywork. Let’s review these methods for anxiety relief in detail.

• Good nutrition is the foundation of natural treatment for anxiety. If you are serotonin-deficient you will crave sugar and simple carbohydrates. But those foods cause your insulin levels to spike and crash, further destabilizing your mood and creating that “bottoming out” feeling. Eat real whole foods, organic when possible, that will help maintain stable blood sugar levels. Avoid all processed, artificial products, trans fats, artificial additives, simple sugars and carbohydrates (or “white” food). Add multiple servings of fiber-rich vegetables or fruit to every meal and drink plenty of filtered water.
• Take a medical–grade nutritional supplement to fill in any nutritional gaps. A daily supplement that includes essential fatty acids is an important part of supporting natural neurotransmitter balance and general good health.
• Take our hormonal balance profile (it’s free). It will help you understand if your anxiety is actually a symptom of perimenopause or menopause. Using progesterone cream or bioidentical HRT may be a useful way to rebalance your hormones and soothe your anxiety.
• Talk to your doctor about taking a neurotransmitter test and discuss the results. Ask to see the results for yourself. At Women to Women we often supplement with certain amino acids and other nutrients that are important precursors to neurotransmitters and can be hard to eat in sufficient quantities. But don’t self-medicate with supplements to balance your neurotransmitters except under medical supervision.
• Examine your diet for potential food allergies or sensitivities. If you are experiencing anxiety-related gastrointestinal problems, you may want to follow an elimination diet. To learn more, you may also want to read our articles on detox and IBS.
• Physical activity is the single best anxiety medication I know. It’s just essential to hormonal balance. In one study, people who engaged in 30–60 minutes of moderate exercise every day reported less anxiety than a similar group on anti-anxiety meds who did not exercise. Start slow and build up to at least 30 minutes a day. Find a friend or a neighborhood group to exercise with — it’s more fun and you’ll be more likely to stick with it.
• Get enough sunlight and fresh air. Fifteen minutes of sun exposure (without sunscreen) in the early morning and late afternoon stimulates the production of vitamin D in your body. Vitamin D deficiency is related to depression, SAD, and other mood disorders. Deep breathing helps calm the senses and relax the mind — so combine both!
• Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep is paramount to brain health. Women should get 7–9 hours a night. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid all caffeine (including chocolate and green tea) and set a bedtime for yourself that you stick to. Practice a calming technique like meditation or deep breathing before bed.
• If you can afford it, find a counselor to talk to about your emotional experience. Ask for a referral from a doctor, family member or friend. The local Y, religious institution, or grief counseling center may have a list of therapists they can offer. Interview several to make sure you find someone you really like and trust. Many of our patients have had life-changing experiences enrolling in the Hoffman Quadrinity Process, which helps individuals “unlearn” negative emotional patterns.
• Try using the Emotional Freedom Techniques, widely known as EFT. My patients report great success with EFT. I like it because unlike conventional relaxation methods, EFT gets at the root causes of anxiety rather than masking them.
• Investigate integrative manual therapy (IMT). Using gentle applied pressure, IMT opens up blocked energy channels to help the body do what it does best — heal itself. Anxiety is in a sense blocked energy, and bodywork helps redirect that energy constructively.
• If you are paralyzed by catastrophic thoughts and debilitating physical symptoms of anxiety, talk to your healthcare professional about the usefulness of short-term medication. If your doctor does not offer additional support techniques to help you in the long term, look around for an alternative or integrative medical practitioner. Long-term use of anti-anxiety medication will not cure you.

Bringing it all together

It’s my hope that some of this advice will help you get a handle on your feelings of anxiety before they manifest into health concerns. If you are already in the grips of chronic anxiety, don’t worry! By supporting your body, examining your past, and rebalancing your body and mind, your anxiety will get better.

Just imagine how powerful you could feel if all that energy that is consumed by anxiety and fear were unleashed in a life-affirming, positive way! As my friend’s mother once said, “Life demands a warrior, not a worrier.” I know that may be easier said than done, but today is a perfect time to try.

Every so often there is a wave of information about something that really upsets you. Yesterday it was about feeding the kids – I know – we’re tired of feeding the kids – but here’s what’s bothering me, and you tell me if I’m the nut case – nuts are really good for you…

We all know that diet and health are related. No one can spend a lifetime eating only junk and not pay for it somehow. The question is, what’s junk?

The presence of junk in my own diet began to interest me with a diabetes scare that was not diabetes but onset menopause. If I had not been prudent and interested, I would have allowed myself to be misdiagnosed, and I would have been in real health jeopardy because of a doctor’s ignorance and inability to listen and judge one thing from another.

Just reading lightly about food was a real draw for me, because I understand how food can be a natural healer, make you feel better, and give you energy and stamina. Now, after a few years of interest, I’m on the Early Childhood Development Coalition subcommittee for Health and Nutrition and I give talks on nutrition when I can.

What am I hearing that’s upsetting now that’s triggering that same la la la la la?

“At La Petite Academy we are not allowed to serve anything fresh. It’s a part of the rules.”

“I’m sick and tired of what most day cares are feeding children.”

“What’s on the menu and what children are actually being served is questionable.”

“Yesterday’s lunch? A spoonful of kidney beans, a spoonful of green beans, an egg and a half slice of white bread.”

“There is a significant number of children with clogged arteries at grammar school age.”

“If we sit down once a week with our family to eat dinner, it’s a lot.”

“I don’t have time to cook a real dinner and I wouldn’t know how, anyway.”

“I had pop tarts for dinner last night.”

“His father spoils him with fast food.”

“I don’t cook.”

These are some of the things I’ve heard over the last few months from parents, doctors and people in the food handling field. In the mean time, as time passes, and as children grow up, what’s happening to their health? Health is not only a “now” thing, it’s a “future” investment. Is nutrition just a topic that we don’t recognize as important because it takes some work and some time? Is fast, convenient, processed food the best we can offer our children even when we know that food and health are related? Do we understand the difference between good and poor food?

Children have more and more allergies, ear infections, bronchitis, sore throats than ever before. Ever think it might be the food or lack of it? Children should grow about three inches a year. Are they? Should a four year old not be able to touch his toes because he’s so inflexible from sitting down? Is the fact that only five schools in EVV passed a proficiency test this year attributable to poor nutrition and poor rest?

Childhood obesity is a problem today because of a lack of exercise and a full cabinet of junk. Neither do kids play outdoors – they don’t know how anymore, but at the same time we don’t turn off the TV. We need the background noise? Really? That’s spooky.

Is it logical to think that when you “take” children outdoors to play and they really play, they will eat nearly anything and that’s when trying new things at the dinner table works.

This week I have another nutrition meeting with the ECDC about poor nutrition in early childhood care centers. My theory is that children in childcare outside their homes should receive every bit of nutrition in childcare necessary to achieve maximum health. But where does one begin to help? I’m just not sure.

The George Mateljan Foundation is a non-profit organization free of commercial influence, which provides this website for you free of charge. Our purpose is to provide you with unbiased scientific information about how nutrient-rich World’s Healthiest Foods can promote vibrant health and energy and fit your personal needs and busy lifestyle.
The World’s Healthiest Foods

Comment: I searched the Internet this morning for positive articles on early childhood, and there was nothing, so I looked at George’s site and I thought this was interesting. It’s a goal not a prescription. Happy eating.

130 foods that can serve as the basis of your Healthiest Way of Eating. Links to the articles about these foods can be found below.

Of course, there are many other nutritious foods other than those that we have included on our list that we feel are wonderful, health-promoting foods; if there are other whole foods – such as fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, etc – that you like, by all means enjoy them. Just because a food is not on our list doesn’t mean that we don’t think that it can be included in a diet geared towards the Healthiest Way of Eating as long as it is a whole, natural, nutrient-rich food.

To find out why some of your favorite nutritious foods are not included in our list, read The Criteria Used to Select the World’s Healthiest Foods.

It was a busy day yesterday getting back and getting our schedule back in place for another run at learning and doing. The children were tired – so they must have really enjoyed the long weekend.

We played a lot outdoors, but still managed to do a lot with the afternoon indoors. It’s passion week and Mrs. St. Louis did the Palm Sunday Story. The kids made palms. They can be seen in the front hall.

We are working hard on our music again. Miss Amy is doing a really nice job teaching the kids some new songs. Singing helps with speech, understanding the world, mathematics, information accumulation and the properties of thought. Children who don’t sing with the group are usually the ones who are slightly behind. It’s interesting.

My class is copying sentences this week in order to begin to understand word placement on paper. Mostly with 4-5 year olds, the words just run together and it’s a real chore to get that space between words. So we’re working on it. My class knows their color words fairly well, and we will begin the number words today.

Yesterday we worked on one-to-one correspondence with patterns and Camryn not only understood, she broke her one-to-one down and made a 4×4 design understanding all the parts and design. This is not an easy concept.

We have new blocks and some new outdoor toys to play with. The kids have been enjoying these.

Today might be an occasion for storms. We will take cover in the bathroom if the storms come. Parents are welcome to call or to pick up children early if the storms upset you.

Today we will be eating tacos in those new salsa shells. The kids love them!

A One-Percent Solution for Day-Care Behavior
By Rosa Brooks
Special to the Los Angeles Times

Comment: I love this because it perfect. Expensive studies come out of one big university after another and the reports are plastered all over the world’s headlines. Day care bad; day care good; why? We don’t know that. The study didn’t tell us. My question is always, then why did we spent a billion dollars to do the study if we can’t know why?

Thank heavens for the media. How else would we make sense of our lives?

Take parenting. Had it not been for the media, I’d never have thought to scrutinize my children’s behavior so closely. But like every parent in America, I couldn’t miss this week’s blockbuster parenting news, broken by The New York Times: “Poor Behavior Is Linked to Time in Day Care.”

Ah ha! That explained everything.

At breakfast this week, I scrutinized my little darlings. Each had spent time in day care. And, sad to say, each had apparently acquired a capacity for Poor Behavior.

My 2 1/2-year-old, for instance, yesterday insisted on pouring her own maple syrup onto her pancakes. Rivulets, streams, lakes of syrup everywhere! She let out an ear-piercing shriek. So did I. I suggested she get a sponge and start scrubbing. She declined in a distinctly surly manner.

Too much time in day care, obviously.

I have to tell you, the news on the day-care front is dire. As The Times put it: “A much-anticipated report from the largest and longest-running study of American child care has found that keeping a preschooler in a day-care center for a year or more increased the likelihood that the child would become disruptive in class — and that the effect persisted through the sixth grade.”

Of course, truly dedicated moms don’t stop at the headlines — we get to the bottom of every parenting story and seek to apply the lessons of the research in our own homes.

At least, that’s the message I took from a recent USA Today article about “Alpha Moms” — “educated, tech-savvy, Type-A moms with a common goal: mommy excellence.” The Alpha Mom “views motherhood as a job that can be mastered with diligent research.” Who’d want to be a Beta or Gamma Mom when Alpha Momhood is within reach?

So I dug deeper into the day-care story.

My scrutiny paid off. Way down in paragraph 15 of The Times story, we finally get to the nitty gritty: “Every year spent in (day-care) centers for at least 10 hours per week was associated with a 1 percent higher score on a standardized assessment of problem behaviors completed by teachers.”

At first, I thought, 1 percent? That’s a story?

But I quickly realized that I was thinking about things the wrong way. From the perspective of an Alpha Mom, that 1 percent difference in problem behaviors wouldn’t be written off as within the margin of error. That 1 percent could be the critical difference between a kid who eventually goes to Harvard and a kid who ends up in juvenile lockup.

So when my 2 1/2-year-old escalated the morning frenzy by willfully placing a pancake on top of her head, I didn’t just roll my eyes. I squinted at the pancake, trying to determine if it was 1 percent larger or more syrupy than the pancake she had placed on her head last year, before she had been exposed to all that extra time in day care. I was pretty sure it was. And she was definitely whining in a voice that was at least 1 percent louder than the whiny voice she had used as a 1-year-old.

I knew I shouldn’t let this Poor Behavior pass unremarked.

“Honey,” I explained, “you mustn’t do that with your pancake. I know it was wrong of me to put you in day care, and I feel bad about the whole selfish insistence-on-having-a-job thing. But you need to work with me a little here.”

She ignored me and tried to balance another pancake on her nose, a 100 percent Poor Behavior escalation in only two minutes.

“Sweetie,” I cajoled, “please don’t be that way. Just last week, The Washington Post reported that mothers today spend an average of 14.1 hours per week tending primarily to their children, whereas mothers in 1965 spent only 10.2 hours a week. So, even though I did send you to day care, I probably still spend 38 percent more time with you than I would have if this were 1965. And I’m sure that I feel at least 38 percent more Mommy Guilt than I would have felt in 1965 too.”

She remained unmoved. All that day care has left her with a heart of stone.

So, gazing tearfully at her little “Harvard Class of 2027” T-shirt, I called the day-care center and announced that I’m quitting my job and staying home to correct the behavior of my precious little ones.

Sure, we’ll all be a little hungry without that paycheck, but that’s the price you pay for perfect parenting.

E-mail Brooks at rbrooks@latimescolumnists.com

Slip Into a Steady Slumber

Tips to Cure Insomnia
— By Liz Noelcke, Staff Writer

Comment: Sleep is so important especially as you get older. Regular sleep will make your day. Here are some good pointers for non-sleepers.