Chef Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once famously said, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.” Not only are our food choices driven by our character and personality, but these very choices also affect us in every way, especially our emotions and mental health. As a recent British study shows that diet choices are paramount to effective depression treatment, it is critically important to pay close attention to what we consume in order to keep depression at bay.
Our Stomach is More Receptive to Emotions Than Our Brains
We often think that the stomach has only one important functioning role in our body – which is digestion. However, there is a powerful connection between the gut and brain; and most importantly, it plays a critical role in maintaining our mental health. As with the brain, our stomach is full of nerves. In fact, it contains the largest and most developed area of nerves outside the brain, controlling the movements of intestines and sends signals to release intestinal hormones. Also, 90% of neurotransmitters with emotion-regulating properties, in fact, come from the stomach.
The notion that the stomach has a dual role in safeguarding our health has led to some fruitful research findings over the decades regarding the therapeutic potential of diet choices in depression. If you sense that any of your friends or relatives have been at their lows, you might want to introduce them to some good mood food to lighten up their mood at your next catch-up.
Good mood food 1 - Leafy Green Vegetables
Many of the leafy green vegetables are loaded with magnesium, which has been long proven beneficial to restore our energy level by converting glucose to energy, relieve our stress by suppressing the release of adrenaline and maintain good mental health by serving as a cofactor for inhibitory neurotransmitters.
Magnesium’s role in alleviating depression symptoms has been consistently highlighted in medical studies. In 2017, American academics, Dr Emily Tarleton, conducted a study probing the role of magnesium in easing depression symptoms. In the experiment, participants were split into two different groups, with one of the groups taking magnesium each day while another group received no treatment. Her team found that the group with consumption of magnesium each day for two weeks resulted in a clinically significant improvement in measures of depression and anxiety symptoms.
Magnesium is an effective mood booster for depression symptoms. It is inexpensive and commonly found in leafy greens including Chinese Broccoli, spinach and the hit superfood, kale.
Good Mood Food 2 – Fatty Fish
People who often eat fatty fish are less likely to develop depression symptoms, mainly because fatty fishes contain omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids, which helps maintain the smooth passage of neurotransmitters and contribute to good brain health. Common fatty fishes include salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardine.
The effects of omega 3 fatty acids on depression symptoms have been tested in a study conducted by a Canadian professor, Dr François Lespèrance. At first, his research findings showed that depression symptoms barely improved among all patients. But after ruling out patients with an anxiety disorder and taking into consideration only anxiety-free patients, he and his team found out that depression symptoms improved significantly among patients taking fish-oil capsules. To keep depression symptoms at bay, remember to go for fatty fishes when you dine out.
Good Mood Food 3 – Greek Yogurt
It is not uncommon to crave desserts when we are in a bad mood – in fact, most of us do. However, if we need a mood booster while staying healthy, we need to keep our hands off the desserts with a high level of sugar. Greek Yogurt, on the contrary, is the perfect sugar-free dessert. It is rich in proteins and loaded with tryptophan and lactic acid bacteria. Tryptophan is a precursor for a number of neurotransmitters, while lactic acid bacteria are beneficial to digestion and nervous system by producing more emotion-regulating neurotransmitters such as dopamine and GABA which in turn help put us in a better mood.
A research team at the University of Virginia conducted a study involving using rats to test the effects of lactic acid bacteria on depression symptoms. The rats were first made anxious and then fed lactic acid bacteria. Based on the analysis of the rats’ reactions before and after taking lactic acid bacteria, the research findings highlighted that depression symptoms resurfaced in many of the rats that ceased to take lactic acid bacteria, suggesting the therapeutic role of lactic acid bacteria in depression treatment.
When you crave for a dessert next time, you could consider Greek Yogurt with fresh fruits to get a fix.
Healthy Diet – The First Step To A Better Mind and Life
For people suffering from depression, showing care is a crucial factor to help them fight the battle. Most of them would lose appetite to eat and the motivation to do anything when they feel depressed. In some cases, they would even binge eat an excessive amount of sugar-loaded or junk food just to ward off the negative feelings gnawing at every ounce of strength they have. Either way, not only would they remain depressed, their health would suffer enormously because of the insufficient amount of nutrition needed to maintain health. As their beloved ones, you should encourage them to follow a healthy diet, apart from standing by them giving support and comfort whenever needed. The process of supporting your beloved one along their battle against depression might be extremely stressful to you, but showing care to them, for example making sure they follow a healthy diet, is the best that we can do to help them along the road.
Dr. Adrian Wong,
Clinical Psychologist
