Food and its relationship to general health have been studied for decades.
More recently, researchers have focused on the effect of a person's diet on their mental health.
Studies of nutrition and psychiatry are beginning to show the importance of eating right for the prevention and treatment of depression.
Yes, food is medicine.
Consider...
Health Dangers from Too Much Sugar
Candy, baked goods, and sugary drinks are our go-to comfort and fun foods. Even when we think we’re eating healthy, with foods like sweetened yogurt or protein bars, we’re chowing down on sugar.
And that doesn’t count all the added sugar in foods like bread and tomato sauce. Whether it’s called corn syrup, agave nectar, cane juice, or sucrose, sugar can mess with your health.
Of course, we all know overindulgence in sugar leads to weight gain and rotting teeth. But your body is also at risk from too much sugar in other ways.
Joint paint and wrinkles
Sugar causes inflammation that makes your joints hurt. A side effect of that inflammation is wrinkly skin. Once in your bloodstream, sugar attaches to proteins and creates harmful molecules that damage collagen and elastin, making your skin age faster.
Poor circulation and impotence
Chronically high levels of sugar can affect your circulatory system and your sexual health. When blood flow isn’t working correctly, men may not be able to get and keep an erection.
Liver problems and diabetes
Sugar makes your liver more resistant to insulin and less able to control your blood sugar levels. When your body stops responding to insulin, your pancreas pumps out more and more until it’s exhausted. Then, as your blood sugar levels rise, you’re ripe for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Mood swings
Sugar affects your mood. That cookie that gave you a burst of energy by quickly raising your blood sugar level also contributes to the crash you feel after your cells have absorbed the sugar. Sugar affects your brain, making it crave more and more sugar for the dopamine surge.
Risk of depression
And, high sugar intake leads to a greater risk of depression. A 2002 study by Dr. Arthur Westover of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center looked at sugar consumption per person in six countries. It found that sugar is a factor in higher rates of depression. A 2015 study showed that older women in the U.S. who ate high levels of sugar had higher rates of depression than those who ate less.
Enough said. Obviously, eating too much sugar comes with a high price to your physical and mental health. But good food is medicine.
How?
Lessen Depression with Your Diet
Depression is a common mental health problem in the U.S. A 2016 study found that approximately 6.7 % of the adult population had at least one depressive episode that year. People with depression feel hopeless, sadness, irritability. Other symptoms are a loss of interest in things once enjoyed, inability to sleep, and thoughts of suicide.
Risk factors for depression like family history, experiencing stress or trauma, and physical illness are hard to control. But as noted above, studies suggest there’s a significant link between mental health and diet.
A brain that doesn’t get the variety of nutrients it needs is an unhealthy brain. Also, bad diet affects the good and bad bacteria in our guts. These micro-organisms communicate with our brains and can change your mood by altering the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Eating a better diet could lower your risk of getting depression and may help treat it.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that food is medicine, indeed, as their research showed that elderly adults who ate vegetables, fruits, and whole grains were less likely to become depressed. Findings like these are leading psychiatrists toward researching and developing nutrition as a strategy for treating mental health disorders.
Two well-researched diets have been shown to be effective for depression.
The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet has been recommended for years to ward off heart attacks and strokes. It works for depression as well.
Research at Deakin University in Australia studied the effect of a modified version of the Mediterranean diet on people with moderate to severe depression. After 12 weeks, people who followed this diet improved their scores on a test that rates mood by 11 points. Almost a third of them scored high enough to show their depression was in remission.
This diet discourages sweets, refined cereals, fried food, fast food, and processed foods. It encourages whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, low-fat and unsweetened dairy foods, raw unsalted nuts, lean red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, and olive oil.
The DASH Diet
The DASH diet is also high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It’s low in sugar and high-saturated fat. Created by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to lower blood pressure, the diet affects depression as well.
Research does not yet prove cause and effect, but at least one study showed an association between the DASH diet and an 11% lower risk of developing depression.
Food for Thought
Depression has many causes, including genetics, specific situations, and lifestyle choices. But whatever the cause, it involves an unhealthy brain. Since good food is medicine, eating a healthy diet strengthens the brain just as it strengthens the heart or any other ailing organ.
Therefore, a healthy diet can help lessen your depression by strengthening your brain and making it healthy again. Yes, truly, food is medicine!