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In today’s video, I want to explore the potential connection between nutrition, diet, and retroactive jealousy.
Read or watch below to learn more about retroactive jealousy and your diet.
Zachary Stockill: In a recent video on this channel, I spoke about the potential connections between alcohol and retroactive jealousy. In today’s video, I want to explore two themes that don’t necessarily seem to be related, but for many people they actually are.
In today’s video, I want to explore something I’ve never explored before.
And that is the potential connection between retroactive jealousy and your diet.
First off, I’ll remind you once again that I am not a doctor and I don’t play one on YouTube either. I am not a medical professional. I am not a nutritionist. This is not medical advice. This is not nutrition advice. Please consult your doctor, consult a registered nutritionist if you have any questions about your physical health or your diet.
That said one of the things I am is a retroactive jealousy survivor. As well as someone who has experimented with a many diets over the years.
So I’ve been a raging carnivore, I was vegetarian, or at least 99% vegetarian for about five years. I’ve eaten very high-carb diets. I’ve eaten very low-carb diets. And I’ve done keto, I’ve done paleo. I’ve tried many diets over the past 15 years or so.
And I have found what works best for me. It’s not necessarily what works best for you. And I’ll mention my diet a little bit later in this video…
But the main point I wanted to highlight in to encourage you to think about the connection, or at least…
The potential connection between retroactive jealousy and your diet.
For those of you who are new to my channel: the term retroactive jealousy refers to unwanted intrusive thoughts, often obsessive curiosity around your partner’s past relationships and/or sexual history.
A related component of retroactive jealousy is anxiety.
And I wanted to highlight an article I found on a Harvard blog. It explores the potential connections between anxiety disorders and nutrition.
So over the years, many researchers have been trying to find any connection between diet and various anxiety disorders. And some research over the past few years is particularly interesting and valuable for anyone struggling with something like retroactive jealousy.
So I’ll take a moment to quote the article directly. The headline is: “Make these foods a part of your anti-anxiety diet”.
You might be surprised to learn that specific foods have been shown to reduce anxiety. In mice, diets low in magnesium were found to increase anxiety-related behaviors. Foods naturally rich in magnesium may therefore help a person to feel calmer. Examples include leafy greens such as spinach and Swiss chard. Other sources include legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
Foods rich in zinc, such as oysters, cashews, liver, beef, and egg yolks, have been linked to lowered anxiety. Other foods including fatty fish, like wild Alaskan salmon, contain omega three fatty acids. A study completed on medical students in 2011 was one of the first to show that omega threes may help reduce anxiety.
A study in the Journal psychiatry research suggests the link between probiotic foods and a lowering of social anxiety.
Eating probiotic-rich foods such as pickles, sauerkraut, and kefir was linked with fewer symptoms. Asparagus is known widely to be a healthy vegetable. Based on research, the Chinese government approved the use of asparagus extract as a natural functional food and beverage ingredient due to its antianxiety properties.
The blog also recommends foods rich in B vitamins such as avocado and almonds. It concludes this passage of the blog by saying “These feel-good foods spur the release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. They are a safe and easy first step in managing anxiety.”
I read this list, and it was an interesting experience. Because I was realizing that literally everything they mentioned is a recurring component of my diet. So I drink kefir. I eat a lot of spinach, I eat almonds. Even I take omega-three supplements and zinc supplement. I eat a lot of beef. You know, I could go on and on. But, I won’t bore you with the details.
The point is:
Without even realizing it, I’ve compiled a very good diet based on someone who has at least some history of anxiety and a disorder like retroactive jealousy.
Not trying to brag about my diet or say that I’m perfect on my diet. Clearly I’m not. But the point is, without really realizing it, I think I’ve come up with a diet that gives me the best chance at keeping things like anxiety and retroactive jealousy at bay over the long term.
On its own, changing your diet is not going to magically cure retroactive jealousy, and it certainly won’t cure anxiety if you struggle with serious anxiety.
But in another recent video on my channel, I encouraged you to think about other factors in your life that could be spurring retroactive jealousy. Or, things in your life that could be making your problem much worse.
And the reality is most people in the West don’t eat a very good diet. I’m not trying to diet shame, anyone. But I think…
We can all agree that a diet high in sugar, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods is probably not going to give you the best chance to feel good.
Eating too much sugar can cloud your brain and contribute to feelings of brain fog. Eating processed foods all the time, and carrying too much extra weight, it’s not going to make you feel great
Recent research shows that there could be a link between a diet rich in processed foods, and increased symptoms of anxiety. There is a link between your mental health and what you eat.
So my intention in creating this video is to encourage you to think a little more about that. Think about your diet recently, or think about your diet over the past year, perhaps.
Think about your diet during the worst, most intense periods of your retroactive jealousy. And ask yourself if there could be a connection there.
I’m not trying to prescribe a diet for retroactive jealousy sufferers in this video. Obviously, everyone’s going to be a little different. Different food groups will work better for different people.
My point is simply to think about what you’re eating. And if you’re eating a lot of processed foods and a lot of sugar, ask yourself if your diet could be contributing to feelings of anxiety, and in particular, feelings of retroactive jealousy.
If you need more help with retroactive jealousy, check out my online course “Get Over Your Partner’s Past Fast”, or consider applying for one-on-one coaching with me.
