Brains need the right dietary mix to be healthy. Too much or too little of a good thing can lead to an unhealthy brain and you could well end up depressed. While all nutrients are important in healthy brains and healthy bodies, it turns out that some are more critical in our brain function than others. Omega 3 fatty acids are a great example. Your brain consists mostly of fat and without Omega 3s, a critical fat for your brain, you may end up fighting depression. If you add Omega 3 to your diet, you may get some relief from depression.
The question, then, is: What are you deficient in? In the depression case, there are some usual suspects: Omega 3s, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, iron in postpartum women, and possibly vitamin D in the winter. I review each of these nutrients in the book Rebuild from Depression: A Nutrient Guide and provide information on body signs of deficiencies and the most effective clinical tests.
But what can you do right now to start down the right food path? You need to eat food packed with nutrition. In the book, I identify foods highest in seven nutrients most commonly associated with depression and call those foods “depression buster foods.” I use the USDA nutrient database of over 5,000 foods and foods most likely to help us fight depression.
This is the first sort of analysis of food and depression of its kind. There are many “lists” out there of foods, some lists of foods that fight depression, but this is the first list based on a systematic selection of nutrients that performs a systematic analysis of over 5,000 foods.
I will feature these foods or the related nutrients on the blog regularly.
Do not get me wrong, food is not a drug as defined by the FDA, a substance that has a pharmacological effect on depression. The food may help bust your depression if the food has nutrients you are deficient in.
With nearly three years of blog entries, you will find a lot of information here on food and depression. Gathering it all in links below is cumbersome. Reading all the links likely is too. Having written the book, it strikes me how cheap is a $20 cover price for organized and printed information compared to online articles. Buy it today if you can. It really will save you time. Until then, take advantage of the resources here.
Nutrients and depression
Depression and Omega 3
How much Omega 3 for depression
B complex vitamins and depression
The magnesium-depression link
Can zinc fight depression?
Iron and postpartum depression
Food and depression
Omega 3, depression, and seafood
Black eyed peas
Beef liver vitamins and minerals
Beef liver and Omega 3 fatty acids
Grass fed beef
High Omega 3 eggs
For laughs and more food, read the depression buster search archives.
Things I Love Thursday and Cooking Thursday, and Fight Back Friday
I’m excited to read more about this. I suffered from major depression for years, culminating in debilitating postpartum depression, and changing my diet did more to help than any drug or therapy ever did! So now, I focus my efforts on learning about nutrition, and I and my family are doing much, much better.
I’m so glad you gave me a list. I’m really bad about going down bunny trails and getting sooooo lost!At least now I know where home is!
This is a very informative post. Food can really help to fight depression and alike. Thanks for sharing these health infos.
I’m intrigued that you have focused so heavily on food. I’m a practising counsellor and use various techniques to understand and treat depression (some of which you can find at http://www.StressingOut.org), anxiety, low self-esteem and stress. Diet is not one of them, even though it’s clear that it does make a difference. Maybe this is an area that needs more widespread attention?