The foods you eat may play a role in preventing the development of depression. If you have ongoing depression, mental health professionals can provide you with therapy and antidepressants. A well-balanced, nutritious diet also helps patients deal with depression. Diets to stop depression may help raise brain chemicals, or neurotransmitters, to improve moods. Doctors prescribe medication that increases these same chemicals for patients. Diet alone does not treat depression, but it may help avoid it.
Protein
Protein foods contain an amino acid called tyrosine that increases dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine in the brain. Eating fish, poultry, meat and eggs may boost your alertness and energy to avoid depressive moods. Protein provides a better energy booster than caffeine for people who drink too much coffee. Having one or two cups of coffee a day may prevent depressive moods for mild cases of depression, but more than two cups a day can lead to irritability that may increase anxiety or depression.
Carbohydrates
Eating carbohydrates, including whole-grain bread or pasta and potatoes, increases levels of tryptophan, an amino acid, in the brain. Carbohydrates release insulin in the blood. The insulin clears away other amino acids but leaves tryptophan alone so it can enter the brain. The tryptophan converts to serotonin, a brain chemical that produces calming effects and reduces pain. MayoClinic.com recommends eating complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, and fewer simple carbohydrates, including sugars. Foods containing tryptophan include oats, bananas, poultry, cheese, milk, nuts and peanut butter.
Fruits, Vegetables and Fish
A whole-foods diet, including lots of fruits, vegetables and fish, may protect against depression. British and French researchers examined the dietary patterns of 3,486 middle-aged people divided into two groups. One group consumed a healthy, whole-foods diet, while the other group ate a diet high in processed meat, fried food, refined grains and fatty desserts. The subjects also reported on their feelings and abilities to avoid depressive moods. After five years, the whole-foods dieters had significantly lower rates of reported depression, according to the November 2009 issue of the "British Journal of Psychiatry."
Mediterranean Diet
Practicing a Mediterranean-style diet may help stop depression. The diet, traditional to many people in Mediterranean countries, focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fish. Spanish researchers analyzed the diets of 10,094 people, who also completed questionnaires, according to a study published in the October 2009 issue of the "Archives of General Psychiatry." During a four-year follow-up, they found that people who followed the Mediterranean diet more closely had a 30 percent reduction in the risk of depression than those who had the lowest intake of foods in the diet.
References
- Middle Tennessee State University: Food, Mood and Neurotransmitters
- MayoClinic.com: Coping with Anxiety -- Can Diet Make a Difference?
- Medical News Today: Researchers Say Healthy Diet Protects Against Depression In Middle Age
- BJ Psych: Dietary Pattern and Depressive Symptoms in Middle Age
- ScienceDaily: Mediterranean Diet Associated With Reduced Risk Of Depression
- Archives of General Psychiatry: Association of the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern With the Incidence of Depression
