Anti-depression Foods: What to Eat to Keep Depression Away

Scandinavian countries and Asian population registered a lower percentage of depression. It owes this food?

Is there a diet for depression? Increasingly more researchers think there is.

Experts have shown that cold-water fish, nuts and sugar beets are beneficial foods against depression.

Omega-3 fatty acids present in salmon, sardines, tuna, canola oil and nuts, are a powerful antidote against depression. This may explain why the Scandinavian countries and Asian populations, who consume a diet rich in fish suffering from depression in a very low percentage.

Uridine, a substance present in sugar beet and molasses, is good, so these foods are good depression.

Japanese and Finnish researchers have shown that a diet rich in fish protects against depression and suicide.

Food for depression: What is safe?

The precise mechanism by which these foods fight depression is unknown. The researchers suggest that substances such as omega-3 fatty acids and uridine produce changes in fat cell membranes of nerve, thus facilitating the passage of active chemicals in the brain.

Other experts claim that depression is as important diet, supplements, medication and psychotherapy. “It is recommended that a person with depression to consume a healthy diet that includes fruits and vegetables with antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids in salmon, tuna or other fish, and vitamin B group,” said Dr. Kathleen Franco , professor of medicine and psychiatry at the University of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. And last but not least, one of the ways to improve the provision is to limit alcohol consumption.

Food for depression: Other foods may benefit

Omega-3 nutrients are not only studied in the treatment of depression. Other foods or supplements have been researched and proven that they can influence a depression. These include:

• Vitamin B. Studies show that if you have low levels of folic acid (a B vitamin) and high levels of a protein called homocysteine, are prone to depression. Folic acid, vitamin B2, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 – all lower levels of homocysteine. You can use group B vitamins by eating more vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains.
• Amino acids. Tryptophan is an amino acid important that your brain needs to produce brain chemical called serotonin. Low levels of serotonin seem to be the origin of depression. Numerous studies have shown that a diet rich in tryptophan can improve depression. Eating tryptophan rich foods you consume protein, such as meat, fish, beans and eggs.
• Carbohydrates. I eat all the carbohydrates that are degraded in sugar that your brain needs to function properly. However, eating too much sugar can cause large swings in your blood sugar, causing or exacerbating these symptoms of depression. The best way to avoid these symptoms is to eat a diet low in refined carbohydrates and sugar. You can eat good quality carbs eating fruits and vegetables.
• St. John’s wort. This herb has been used as a dietary supplement in treating depression. There was some evidence that St. John’s wort may be beneficial in the treatment of mild depression, but two recent studies have demoonstrat that it has no effect in the treatment of severe depression (major).

Most evidence on nutrition in depression are not strong enough to say they can cure depression, but research continues. Currently, most doctors agree that anti-depression diet alone can not substitute for appropriate treatment for depression.