Feel More Calm With Natural Anti-Anxiety Supplements

Many people feel a lot of stress these days and when feelings of stress and pressure continue for a long time they can lead to anxiety and panic attacks which need to be addressed to restore your quality of life.

Anxiety attacks can render a person unable to function. At the very least they feel awful and hinder your ability to think clearly. They are a stressful event in and of themselves.

Research is showing that a lack of GABA (short for gamma-aminobutyric acid) may be responsible. Gamma-aminobutyric acid is a key neurotransmitter that, among other functions, helps to make you feel calm and relaxed, reduces anxiety, and helps you feel more alert. It does so by controlling your brain theta waves to make you feel more physically and mentally balanced and by stabilizing the nerve cells to keep them from firing too much or firing erratically. GABA is also involved in the production of endorphins, those feel good chemicals that your brain produces during exercise that create the feeling athletes describe as the high A deficiency of this neurotransmitter can affect your ability to effectively manage stress.

Anti-anxiety medications such as Valium, Xanax and Ativan work by stimulating GABA receptors, but of course many of these drugs have unwanted side effects and many people do not want to take prescription medications if there are natural alternatives.

If you are looking for a natural solution to feelings of stress and anxiety you may not need to look any further than your kitchen. Dr. Braverman, author of Edge Effect, suggests this list of foods as being high in glutamic acid or glutamate which form glutamine, the precursor to GABA:

Almonds, tree nuts

Bananas

Beef Liver

Broccoli

Brown Rice

Halibut

Lentils

Oats, whole grain

Oranges, citrus fruits

Rice bran

Spinach

Walnuts

Whole wheat, whole grains

Another safe and healthy way to boost your GABA levels is with the supplement L-theanine. This is a natural amino acid and is found in green tea. L-theanine is involved in making GABA in the body. L-theanine boasts the winning combination of increasing mental clarity and calming the mind without drowsiness. An effective amount of L-theanine for most people seems to be 100mg to 200mg preferably in multiple doses, one to four times throughout the day.

You can have your doctor check your neurotransmitter levels with a simple blood test to see if your levels are in need of a boost. And talk to your doctor before combining supplements with your current medications.