What you consume has an overall effect on your mental health, just as it does your physical health. These effects can be negative or positive. When you have depression or are at risk for developing depression, it is important to take into consideration what you are eating and drinking, because these substances can help you find relief or trigger more severe symptoms. Also, it is important to note a combined use of medication and psychotherapy is effective at treating depression.
Increase Severity
Including alcohol in your diet if you are at risk for depression or if you are suffering from depression is not recommended. Alcohol use can trigger depression symptoms or make the symptoms more severe and harder to treat. Alcohol works on the body as a depressant. Therefore, it slows your body function down even further and can have a negative effect on your mood.
Also, all forms of alcohol such as wine, beer and hard liquor are not recommended if you are taking antidepressant medications for your depression, because these beverages can reduce its effectiveness, notes the National Institute on Mental Illness.
Weight Change
One of the classic symptoms of depression is a change in weight. This can occur as a drastic reduction in weight or a significant amount of weight gained. When a person becomes depressed, she often changes her diet due to the depression, and this change results in a significant change in weight.
Many people with depression see an increase in their appetite and an increased craving for high-fat or calorie-dense foods. The consumption of these foods can have a negative effective on the overall mood of a person who is depressed, because soon after these foods are eaten, they result in a crash in mood and energy, notes HelpGuide.org.
Symptom Relief
Eating a healthy diet can play a significant role in the relief of depression symptoms. Foods such as complex carbohydrates have been found to steady mood because they keep your blood sugar level and they can increase the amount of serotonin in your brain, reports HelpGuide.org. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has been shown to play a role in the development and maintenance of depression symptoms when the levels in a person's brain are too low. Foods that contain these potential symptom-relieving complex carbohydrates include whole grain pasta, brown rice, oats, quinoa, whole grain bread, whole grain cereals, berries and bananas.
Also, the inclusion of omega-3 fatty acid rich foods in your diet can help relieve the symptoms of depression. Omega-3 rich foods help boost your mood, thus reducing your depression symptoms, according to HelpGuide.org. Foods that contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, herring, flax seed, vegetable oils such as flaxseed oil, sunflower oil, olive oil and canola oil, and walnuts.
