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Depression’s Link to Your Diet

Many people first turn to drugs and medications when they believe they are stuggling with depression.  But I believe it is important to address depression on every level–mind, body and spirit.

A recent University of London study, led by Dr. Eric Brunner, followed the eating habits of 3,486 adults for 5 years.  The study revealed that those who ate diets high in processed and fast foods were almost 60% more likely to suffer from depression.

If you are struggling with depression, I would recommend you make these changes to your diet and lifestyle:

1. Get rid of the fast food and processed, packaged food.  These are fake foods! Focus instead on eating foods in their whole forms with a high nutrient content.  Refined and processed foods contain very little nutrition as compared to whole foods.  Vitamins and minerals synthetically added to foods, as in “enriched” products are often in forms that aren’t easily utilized by the body.  Look for locally grown, organic produce and protein sources.  Farmer’s markets and organic co-ops are great resources for this.
2. Cut the caffeine.  This stimulant can lead to overstimulation of the nervous system and can increase the incidence of anxiety and insomnia, both linked to depression.  Caffeine dampens the body’s appetite and slows absorption of nutrients.
3. Replace refined carbohydrates with vegetables.  Carbohydrates boost the calming neurotransmitter, serotonin.  Simple carbohydrates (like white bread, pasta, white rice or white flour) wreak havok on our blood sugar levels and can increase depressive symptoms over the long run.  Complex carbohydrates increase serotonin.  Healthy carbohydrate choices include vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds.
4. Spend time in the sun.  Recent research has linked low levels of vitamin D with cardiovasular disease and depression.  Sunlight is our best source of Vitamin D, but supplementation of Vitamin D3 has been found to help those suffering from winter depression.  Foods fortified with vitamin D usually have the not-so-effective D2 form, rather than the more bioavailable D3. 
5. Balance your essential fatty acids.  Essential fatty acids include omega-3’s, omega-6’s and omega-9’s.  What most people don’t realize is that it is the proper balance of these fatty acids that matter for both physical and mental health.  Fatty acids are most concentrated in the membranes of brain cells.  The western diet is high in omega-6 and 9 fatty acids, which leads to imbalance of fatty acid levels.  The deficit of omega-3 fatty acids is linked to depression and the high levels of omega-6 and 9 fatty acids in refined and processed foods have been found to cause dramatic problems in the production of serotonin.  Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include oily, cold-water fish, dark and leafy green vegetables, flaxseed, and nuts.  It is also very helpful to supplement with cod liver oil in liquid form or krill oil.
6. Remove alcohol.  Even casual drinking can increase the effects of depression.  Alcohol lowers serotonin and norepinephrine levels.  It depresses the brain and nervous system and blunts the action of stress hormones.  When people who had just one drink per day abstained for 3 months, they experienced improvements in mood.  Alcohol undermines physical and mental health in other ways too.  Andrew Weil says that alcohol speeds up the breakdown and elimination of valuable antioxidants from the body, especially folate, low levels of which have been linked to increased incidence of depression.  As alcohol impairs judgement and decreases inhibtion, it becomes more common for thought of suicide to become real actions.  Alcohol affects all decision-making, including getting help for depression.

Depression should be addressed at every level: mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically.  That’s how I would recommend anyone to address their health in general.  The foods we eat really do affect every system in our bodies and can have a tremenous impact on someone suffering from depression.

Written by Dr. Josh Axe