Five foods that make you anxious

But did you know that what you eat could also mess with your emotions, exacerbating anxiety and leaving you feeling on edge, worried, and unable to concentrate?

It's true, says Ali Miller, dietitian and author of Naturally Nourished. While food may not be the main cause of these feelings, it can certainly affect their severity and how often they occur. "Anxiety can be caused by inadequate brain levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and GABA, which help reduce the influence of stress hormones, as well as excessive excitatory hormones such as glutamate and epinephrine, which can cause an anxiety and stress response," says Miller. 

Related: Foods to eat when you're stressed

And, you guessed it, certain foods help aid in the production of those feel-good chemicals, while others elevate the anxiety-inducing ones. "Processed foods especially tend to perpetuate a vicious cycle of guilt, anxiety, cravings, and overeating, making it hard to stop eating them once you start."

The good news: Quelling your anxiety may be as simple as knowing your food triggers, then cutting them out or reducing your intake. Here, we've identified some surprising foods that might be throwing your anxiety and sour mood into overdrive. 

Pasta
Refined carbs like white pasta and white bread, doughnuts can wreck your mood by causing rapid spikes and dips in blood sugar. Recently, researchers at Columbia University found that the higher a woman's blood sugar rose after refined grains, the higher her risk of depression. The good news, however, was that the study also found the reverse to be true: A diet high in whole grains, such as brown rice and quinoa, and produce actually lowers a woman's risk of depression.

Coffee
Now hear us out—we're not telling you to stop drinking coffee and other caffeinated beverages altogether. But if you're feeling on edge, downing cup after cup could be partly to blame. Caffeine has a stimulant effect on the nervous system, says Miller—it causes a release of the stress hormone cortisol, triggering our "fight or flight" response, and has been shown to exacerbate anxiety and sleep problems, particularly in those with panic disorders and social anxiety.

And while caffeine does initially increase serotonin levels to make you feel pretty awesome, chronic release of serotonin due to excessive coffee consumption over time can actually cause you to become depleted in this neurotransmitter. To lessen caffeine's influence, consider scaling back to one or two cups of coffee per day.

MORE: Veggies that are healthier cooked than raw

Diet Drinks

Diet and energy drinks may be delivering a double dose of anxiety: Not only do they contain caffeine, but many also contain artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, which may significantly reduce levels of "feel good" serotonin in the brain. In fact, in one study, researchers at the University of Northwestern Ohio looked at the effect of aspartame on people with a history of depression and found that it significantly worsened symptoms, including feelings of anxiety. If it's a fizzy fix you crave, consider swapping it for a naturally flavored seltzer; if you use artificial sweeteners in your coffee or tea, try using a bit of stevia instead.

Ketchup
Condiments like salad dressing and ketchup can be a sneaky source of high-fructose corn syrup, which, like pasta, can cause anxiety-inducing spikes and dips in your blood sugar. Even worse, it's sweeter than table sugar, which leads to increased consumption and perpetual cravings along with weight gain, says Miller.

MORE: Food pairings that fight inflammation 

Alcohol
While many people who feel anxious may turn to alcohol for relief, the mood boost of booze is only temporary and can worsen anxiety over time. And even those who have never suffered from anxiety-related issues can develop problems as a result of alcohol abuse. That happens for a few reasons. One, alcohol is a depressant and messes with the proper functioning of your central nervous system, which controls how you process emotions.

Two, alcohol can cause anxiety-inducing spikes and dips in blood sugar. And three, alcohol is a diuretic, which can lead to dehydration, causing impaired cognitive function and an inability to focus—both of which can contribute to feelings of anxiety. If you do need a little something to take the edge off after a long hard day, consider tipping back a mug of hot or iced chamomile tea instead of making that glass of wine a nightly habit.