Foods that can cause anxiety and panic attacks (and what the evidence really says)

You have a second coffee, and an hour later your heart is racing and you feel on edge. Or you skip lunch and find yourself shaky, irritable and close to panic by mid-afternoon.

What you eat and drink won’t give you an anxiety disorder. But some foods and drinks can trigger anxiety symptoms, or push an anxious day over the edge. Here’s what the evidence actually shows, and what to do about it.

Caffeine

Caffeine is the most common food trigger for anxiety by far. It speeds up your heart, makes you jittery and can disrupt your sleep, which looks and feels a lot like anxiety.

People who have panic attacks seem to be especially sensitive. A review of eight carefully controlled studies, where people with panic disorder were given caffeine, found that every one showed caffeine increased anxiety or set off panic attacks.

The US Food and Drug Administration says up to 400 mg a day isn’t generally linked to dangerous effects in healthy adults. But if you’re prone to anxiety, your comfortable limit may be much lower. Here’s roughly how much caffeine is in a 12 oz drink, according to the FDA:

Drink (12 oz)	Caffeine
Brewed coffee	about 113 to 247 mg
Energy drink	about 41 to 246 mg
Black tea	about 71 mg
Green tea	about 37 mg
Caffeinated soda	about 23 to 83 mg

Decaf isn’t completely caffeine-free either: an 8 oz cup of decaf coffee usually has 2 to 15 mg.

Watch out for hidden caffeine in pre-workout powders, caffeine pills, some headache tablets and “focus” or weight-loss supplements. Pure powdered caffeine is especially dangerous, because a tiny amount can be a toxic dose.

Cutting down: if you drink a lot of caffeine, cut down gradually over a week or two. Stopping suddenly can cause headaches, tiredness and irritability, which can feel like a different kind of anxiety.

Alcohol

A drink can feel calming at first. But your brain adjusts to alcohol while you drink, so when the buzz wears off, many people feel more restless and anxious than before they started. This is often called “hangxiety”. Alcohol also makes sleep lighter and more broken, and tiredness makes anxiety worse the next day.

If you notice you’re drinking to cope with anxiety, it’s worth talking to a doctor. It’s a very common pattern, and it tends to make anxiety worse over time.

Energy drinks and pre-workout

These deserve their own mention because they often combine a lot of caffeine with other stimulants, sugar and sometimes ingredients that aren’t clearly labelled. A racing heart and shaky hands after an energy drink can easily tip into a panic attack in someone who’s prone to them.

Long gaps between meals

When you go a long time without eating, you can feel shaky, sweaty, irritable and light-headed. Those feelings are very similar to anxiety, and if you’re already on edge they can be the spark that sets it off.

In people with diabetes, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) causes a fast heartbeat, shaking and sweating that can feel just like panic. If you have diabetes and you get these symptoms, check your blood sugar and follow your treatment plan.

Eating regular meals, with some protein and fibre, helps keep your energy steadier through the day.

Cannabis edibles

THC, the part of cannabis that makes you high, can trigger anxiety, panic and a strange, unreal feeling, especially at higher doses. Edibles are particularly easy to overdo, because they take a long time to kick in, so people often take more before the first dose has worked. If cannabis has left you feeling detached or unreal, our post on what derealization feels like may help.

Ultra-processed foods

A large 2024 review in the BMJ, which brought together dozens of earlier analyses, found that people who ate more ultra-processed foods (like packaged snacks, sugary cereals, ready meals and processed meats) were more likely to have anxiety. Their odds were about 48% higher.

That sounds striking, but it’s important to know what it does and doesn’t show. These studies found a link, not proof that the food caused the anxiety. It might work the other way round too: when you’re anxious and exhausted, convenience food is often what’s easiest. The reviewers rated the quality of this evidence as low. Eating fewer ultra-processed foods is good for your health in lots of ways, but it isn’t a treatment for anxiety on its own.

What about sugar, sweeteners and gluten?

You’ll find lots of claims online. Here’s where the evidence stands:

• Sugar. Large amounts on an empty stomach can leave some people feeling shaky later. But there isn’t good evidence that sugar itself causes anxiety.
• Artificial sweeteners. Most of the evidence linking sweeteners to anxiety comes from animal studies. There isn’t enough to say they cause anxiety in people.
• Gluten. If you have coeliac disease, gluten makes you unwell, and feeling unwell can make anxiety worse. If you don’t, there’s no good evidence that cutting gluten reduces anxiety.

When food reactions feel like panic

Two situations are important to know about:

• Allergic reactions. A serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) can cause a racing heart, a tight throat and a sense of doom, a lot like panic. If you have swelling of your lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing or swallowing, wheezing, hives or feel faint after eating, use an adrenaline (epinephrine) auto-injector if you have one and call 911.
• MAOI antidepressants. If you take an MAOI, you’ll have been given a list of foods to avoid, like aged cheese and cured meats, because they can cause a dangerous rise in blood pressure with a pounding headache. Follow that list carefully.

Why cutting out lots of foods can backfire

When you’re anxious, it’s tempting to cut out everything that might be a trigger. But a long list of “unsafe” foods can make eating itself feel stressful, and for some people it can lead to disordered eating. It can also leave you short of important nutrients.

If you find yourself avoiding more and more foods, feeling afraid to eat, or losing weight without trying, please talk to a doctor.

How to find your own triggers

1. Keep a simple food and mood diary for two weeks. Note what you ate and drank, and when, and rate your anxiety a few times a day.
2. Look for patterns. Does anxiety rise an hour after coffee? The morning after drinking? Late afternoon, after skipping lunch?
3. Change one thing at a time, like switching your second coffee to decaf, and see what happens over a week or two.
4. Keep the basics steady: regular meals, enough water and not too long between eating.

Frequently asked questions

Can food cause panic attacks?

Food doesn’t cause panic disorder, but caffeine, alcohol, energy drinks and cannabis can all set off panic attacks in people who are prone to them. Hunger can too, by causing shaky, sweaty feelings that your brain reads as danger.

Which drinks are worst for anxiety?

Energy drinks, strong coffee and alcohol are the most common culprits. Caffeinated soda and tea have less caffeine, but they still add up over a day.

Can being hungry cause anxiety?

Yes. Going a long time without eating can make you shaky, irritable, sweaty and light-headed, which feels a lot like anxiety and can make existing anxiety worse. Regular meals help.

What foods help with anxiety?

No food treats anxiety. But a varied diet with plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, fish and nuts is good for your overall health, and regular meals keep your energy steadier. Our post on anxiety after eating covers what to do if meals themselves bring on anxiety.

How Breatheasy can help

Breatheasy can help you spot your own food and drink patterns. Ten-second check-ins and a journal let you note how you feel through the day, so you can see whether anxiety follows that afternoon coffee or a night of drinking. If something has left you jittery, a few minutes of guided breathing, with your phone pulsing as you breathe in, helps your body settle. Breatheasy is coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Sources

• Spilling the beans: how much caffeine is too much?, US Food and Drug Administration
• Caffeine challenge test and panic disorder: a systematic literature review, Vilarim and others, Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2011
• Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review, Lane and others, BMJ, 2024
• Hangovers, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
• Anaphylaxis, NHS
• Generalised anxiety disorder in adults, NHS