I just knew there was something about ice cream and perhaps eating it daily in the first trimester of this pregnancy is why I am getting along so swimmingly. In fact, in my last pregnancy I was in the depths of depression by about 28 weeks and headed into a couple of psychotic episodes. Here I am at 30 weeks still out of the pit.
Is it the ice cream?
I turned to Google Trends for the answer and check it out. When people are on the Internet searching for the word "ice cream," they are less likely to be searching for the word "depression." Wow.
In the figure below, the blue trend line is searches for "ice cream" and the red for "depression." Each year the searches for ice cream peak about mid-year and, accordingly, searches for "depression" decline. (Sorry for the "A," "B," "C," "D" in the graph. They will give you Google news stories on "depression" if you were actually in Google Trends.)
Does Google provide us with proof positive that there are foods that fight depression? Is the recent rise in searches for the term "depression" due to ice cream shortages?
The alternative theory is that sunlight in the summer improves our vitamin D status, vitamin D deficiencies aggravate depression, and that summer time is a great time for ice cream. The recent rise in searches may well be due to that other type of depression. But if you need an excuse, by all means, here's some data to justify ice cream. There is no reason to let alternative theories stand in the way of a good story. Consider having some fatty fish high in Omega 3 fatty acids as well.
Technorati Tags: depression, foods that fight depression, ice cream, Rebuild from Depression, sunshine, vitamin D
