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The most important thing to remember when considering any dietary change is to consult with your doctor. Your health is an integral part of your life and you should be comfortable treating it that way. Depression and mood problems are very treatable but there are underlying reasons why they are occurring in the first place. Certain foods can affect the brain in very negative ways, so it is important to avoid those foods if you want to see the best results.
One of the best mood enhancers is to eat foods rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are beneficial to all of us, but they are particularly critical for reducing the likelihood of cancer, heart disease, and other ailments. For that reason, eating foods that are high in antioxidants can really help improve your mood. Some of these are:
* Avocado. Avocados have a lot of benefits, but they are especially important to anyone looking to boost their mood. They are rich in both vitamin A and vitamin C, which are important for regulating mood and anxiety levels. Vitamin A is associated with improving mood and decreasing anxiety while Vitamin C helps protect the body from diseases like colds. If you can't find avocados in your local grocery store, try frozen (or fresh) avocados.
* Beta-carotene. This vitamin is also very important to keeping your mood in balance. It helps to regulate mood by increasing serotonin levels in the brain. But how does it do that? It does so by increasing the body's production of a chemical called vitamin A.
* Lecithin. Lots of people know that lecithin is good for us in many ways. Not only does it help make our cells absorb vitamins and fat faster and more easily, it helps to keep cholesterol levels down too. And it is also an effective mood enhancer, as it has similar effects to those of chamomile.
* Vitamin B. As you probably know, vitamin B helps your body use energy more efficiently and to prevent fatigue. It is also important to your overall mood because it promotes a healthy immune system.
So, what are your sources of vitamin A? Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. But there are other foods that contain this nutrient. Some foods high in beta-carotene are: papaya, carrots, cantaloupe, kiwi, mango, and avocado. Other foods with high levels of vitamin A are eggs, fatty fish like salmon and tuna, and soy beans. So keep these sources in mind and your good mood will be helped on by these foods.
What if you are not a vegetarian or vegan, but you still want to get more of these nutrients? There are non-food items that you can take to increase your levels of these vitamins and they include: herbal mood enhancers, vitamin B supplements, and passion flower extract. All three of these can be found at your local health food store and they can all help you feel better today.
Another easy way to get a higher vitamin C level is by eating foods rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants can fight off free radicals that are caused by things like pollution and cigarette smoke. Foods like cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, salmon, and spinach are all excellent sources of vitamin C. Be careful to choose foods that are high in antioxidants though. Caffeine and other types of stimulants can keep your blood sugar elevated which can keep the production of vitamin C within the body low.
There are two components of psychological health,
the absence of mental health disorders, such as depression,
as well as the existence of positive psychological well-being.
That's the focus of an emerging field of positive psychology,
focusing on happiness, life satisfaction, and flourishing,
which may translate to physical benefits,
such as improvements in blood pressure, immune function, and longevity.
What is the contribution of food consumption to well-being?
Studies have linked the consumption of fruits and vegetables
with enhanced well-being.
A systematic review of research found evidence that consuming fruits
and vegetables was associated with increased psychological well-being.
OK, but that's just an association.
A famous criticism in this area of research is that maybe there's
just some inherent personality trait or type of family upbringing
that might lead people simultaneously to eat in a healthy way
and also to have better mental well-being.
So, the diet is merely correlated with, but incorrectly gives
the appearance of helping to cause, the level of well-being.
But recent research circumvented this problem by seeing if changes
in diet are correlated with changes in mental well-being,
in effect studying the evolution of well-being and happiness
after increases in the consumption of fruits and vegetables.
And look at that graph.
A straight-line increase between how much more fruits and veggies
people started eating and their change in life satisfaction over time.
Increased fruit and vegetable consumption appeared predictive
of increased happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being,
up to 0.24 life satisfaction points for an increase of eight portions a day.
What does that mean? Is that a lot? Is that a little?
That's a lot, equal in size to the psychological gain
of going from unemployed to getting a job.
My Daily Dozen recommendation is for at least 9 servings
of fruits and veggies a day.
This study was done in Australia.
It was repeated in the UK, and researchers there found the same thing,
though the Brits may need to bump up their daily minimum
to more like 10 or 11 servings a day.
OK, but does eating fruits and veggies also reduce the risk
of depression and anxiety?
I mean, well-being is nice, but governments and medical authorities
are often interested in the determinants of major mental illness,
not life satisfaction, and indeed, using the same data set,
but instead looking for mental illness,
eating fruits and vegetables may help to protect against future risk
of clinical depression and anxiety as well.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of dozens of studies
found that every 100 gram increased intake of fruit
was associated with a 3% reduced risk of depression.
That's about half an apple.
Yet, less than 10% of most Western populations
even consume a bare minimum.
Maybe the problem is we're just telling people about
the long-term benefits of fruit intake for chronic disease prevention
rather than the near-immediate improvements in well-being.
So, maybe we should be advertising the happiness gains,
but first we need to make sure they're real.
We've been talking about associations.
Yes, a healthy diet may reduce the risk of future depression or anxiety,
but being diagnosed with depression or anxiety today
could also lead to lower fruit and vegetable intake.
Now, in these studies you can indeed show that the increase
in fruit and vegetable consumption came first,
and not the other way around.
But, as the great Enlightenment philosopher pointed out,
just because the cock crows before dawn
doesn't mean the cock caused the sun to rise.
To prove cause and effect, you need to put it to the test
with an interventional study.
Unfortunately to date, many studies were like this,
where those randomized to eat fruit showed significant improvements
in anxiety and depression, fatigue, and emotional distress.
Wow, amazing.
But, that was compared to chocolate and potato chips.
Apples, clementines, and bananas making people feel better
than assorted potato chips and chunky chocolate wafers.
Not exactly a revelation.
This is the kind of study I've been waiting for,
a randomized controlled trial in which young adults were randomized
to a diet-as-usual group, encouragement to eat more fruits and veggies,
or a third group given two servings of fruits and vegetables a day
to eat over and above their regular diet.
And, the ones given fruits and veggies showed improvements
in their psychological well-being, with increases in vitality,
flourishing, and motivation within just two weeks.
However, simply educating people to eat their fruits and vegetables
may not be enough to reap the full reward.
So, perhaps greater emphasis needs to be placed
on actually providing people with fresh produce,
for example, offering free fruit for people when they shop.
I know that would certainly make me happy.
Thank you.
