Supplements for Anxiety: Do They Work?

Did you leave the stove on? Is your door locked? Have your keys, phone, or wallet up and walked away in the last 3 minutes since you’ve seen them? Are your palms sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy? 

We talked about science-supported supplements for depression a couple of weeks ago, much to the chagrin of black-and-white thinkers, but we’d be remiss not to share a little love for our Nervous Nellies, too. 

(Editor’s Note: This blog was, in fact, written by a fellow Nervous Nellie.) 

Anxiety has almost surpassed depression as far as its prevalence on the internet goes, yet most of us who struggle with it know little about its causes and complications in the body. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not as simple as just being born with a brain that panics at the thought of asking for more ketchup. 

And it’s not as complex as being incurably, irrevocably anxious. While you might have grown quite comfortable hosting the fear and unease that hallmark anxiety in your body, they aren’t intrinsic personality traits and they can be addressed through a myriad of holistic, or whole-person, interventions.

But don’t start sweating bullets, you bundle of nerves, you. We’ll take this slow, starting with the importance of addressing lifestyle changes before we dive into nutritional deficiencies that could be exacerbating your symptoms of anxiety. 

In This Article:

• Acknowledging lifestyle factors that influence anxiety
• Omega-3 and its role in anxiety experiences
• Probiotics and the gut-brain connection
• Vitamin D as a mental health nutrient

But First, Coffee: Lifestyle Changes to Address for Anxiety 

While we’d all benefit from a miracle cure for a racing mind with no side effects, we’re not holding our breath. 

Why? Because the foundation of your health is built on mundane blocks — there’s no way around that. 

Unless you want to go against the grain of validated, peer-reviewed scientific studies, of course! Studies, like this one or that one, show how inadequate nutrient intake increases anxiety and how adequate sleep decreases it, respectively.

Or, if you need another example, there’s this particularly fascinating review that casually mentions that endocrine disruptors from our environment are associated with anxiety disorders due to their estrogenic effect on the hippocampus and amygdala. 

Even something as simple as proper hydration can affect whether or not our symptoms of anxiety are heightened. 

So before we go full boar on the supplements that modern clinical research says can improve symptoms of anxiety, we have to acknowledge how our day-to-day choices can increase or decrease the likelihood that we’ll experience anxiety. (Luckily for all of us, Dr. Neal already spilled the beans on data-backed wellness practices for mental health.) 

From there, we can bolster our health and support a balanced emotional experience by addressing nutritional deficiencies with supplements. Because, as we always say, you can out-Xanax chronic dehydration, lack of sleep, a sedentary lifestyle, or a nutritionally bankrupt diet. 

Supplements for Anxiety — Meet 3 of the Vital5

When Dr. Neal developed the Vital5, it was to address one particular question that anxious wellness seekers asked him on a near-constant basis: 

“What supplement should I take?”

Reverberating throughout his skull and haunting his dreams, this question pushed our resident Wellness Wizard to simplify what is an enormously complicated thing — strategic supplementation. Using only industry-leading data from verified clinical research and scientific studies, Dr. Neal created this category of 5 vital supplements that just about everyone needs because: 

1. They have the largest bodies of research to support their use
2. It’s almost impossible to get enough of them, even with the healthiest diets
3. These nutrients affect not one but multiple bodily systems 

While this category may one day be called the Vital6, Vital3, or Vital10, depending on how the science of nutrition evolves, these 5 compounds currently stand as your best bet for reaching a new level of wellness via supplementation. 

And, because we’re talking about a few of these key players yet again in this anxiety-centered blog, you can bet your boots they pull their weight in the mental health arena, too. 

1. Omega-3 Supplements for Anxiety

Let’s take a trip way back in 2011 when 68 medical students agreed to participate in a randomized controlled trial exploring the benefits of omega-3 supplementation on anxiety.

By this point, it was already known that low levels of omega-3 paired with higher levels of omega-6 were linked to inflammation and depression, but this study illuminated the inverse relationship between the nutrient and anxiety. 

Even among these reportedly healthy medical students, omega-3 supplementation resulted in a 20% reduction in anxiety symptoms. 

This is just one of what is now hundreds of clinical trials that have examined the efficacy of omega-3 supplements for anxiety symptoms. If you need another more recent and robust example, though, spend some time with this meta-analysis that reviewed 19 trials with a total of 2240 participants from 11 different countries.

The results? Unequivocal. (Or as unequivocal as modern science can be.) Omega-3 supplements? Labeled with the highly esteemed sentiment: Might be effective in treating anxiety in clinical settings.

Learn More: Omega-3 Supplements: Are They Worth the Hype?

2. Probiotics for Gut-Brain Health

The gut-brain axis has become a bit of a buzzword (buzzphrase?) in recent years, and for good reason. Modern examinations of the relationship between the digestive system and cognitive function have revealed the fact that we Westerners don’t know jack crap about how the body works. 

One notable discovery that encouraged an influx of controlled trials and cultural tribulations showed that 95% of serotonin, the so-called happiness chemical, is produced in the gut. So much for the mind-body dichotomy we founded our entire society on!

This quickly became a marketing tactic for probiotic supplements, which are capsulized versions of the friendly bacteria we have growing in the canals of our GI tracts. But where does the clinical research stand? 

One month-long study from 2017 took a collection of healthy volunteers — sans diagnosed mental health symptoms — and gave half of them Diazepam and the other half a probiotic supplement. 

The reduced cortisol levels and improved psychological conditions of the group that took probiotics showed the supplement has a similar degree of influence on anxiety as Diazepam, a common anti-anxiety medication with a laundry list of side effects, depression and fatigue included. 

Because probiotics can positively impact the health of gut microbiota and, in turn, balance two driving factors of mental illness — dysbiosis and inflammation — they’re shaping up to be a promising option for addressing anxiety.

Learn More: The Gut-Brain Connection: 3 Holistic Tips for Optimal Health

3. Vitamin D Supplements for Anxiety

We know what you’re thinking, and yes, vitamin D is typically included in the bone support category of the Vital5. But know this: the scope of the sunshine supplement’s sway over your health goes far beyond the skeletal system!

Hence why it was already featured in this previous blog on supplements for depression. It bears repeating that vitamin D plays a critical part in neurocognitive functioning and that the vast majority of Americans aren’t getting nearly enough of it. 

As in 95% of us are deficient in vitamin D. Which is especially gross considering vitamin D deficiency can manifest in a multitude of unpleasant or else downright unbearable symptoms — anxiety is just one of many. 

For example, a recent study with over 2,000 healthy participants observed a connection between vitamin D deficiency and a reduction in brain volume. However, a fringe benefit of these findings on neurodegeneration is that they may offer a more complete picture of why low vitamin D levels have also been traditionally associated with increased symptoms of anxiety. 

So it’s starting to look like there’s a two-way street running between vitamin D and mental health symptoms. Scientific evidence has shown that vitamin D has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties, meaning it “may act in a similar manner to classic antidepressants.”

Plus vitamin D inhibits inflammatory cytokines that can have negative effects on neurotransmitter systems and have been linked to anxiety spikes. Is this why clinical trials are showing the beneficial effects of vitamin D on anxiety levels at an ever-increasing frequency?

Maybe! All we know is we aren’t going to get caught out being one of the 95% of Yankees with vitamin D deficiency any time soon.

Stop Blaming Your Brain, It’s Doing Its Best

Moral of the anxiety-ridden story: There’s a lot going on below the surface of your symptoms.

Nutritional deficiencies, crappy sleep, lack of exercise, environmental toxins, and more can all play a role in creating or exacerbating anxiety. While the latter lifestyle changes take effort and patience to reap the rewards, at least we can address nutritional deficiencies simply and efficiently with high-quality supplements!

Plus, if the thought of a phone call doesn’t make you want to keel over, you can chat with one of our supplement experts for free anytime via Counterside Consult.

Just don’t forget that professional mental health care and pharmaceutical interventions are also integral facets of a whole-picture approach, okay? Because frankly, we anxious Americans need all the help we can get.