Mood Enhancing Foods and Using Diet to Help Depression

It is not hard for me to believe that there are mood enhancing foods. I have often noticed how eating the wrong thing can make me feel sluggish and a bit down. If foods make me feel bad then it makes sense that there will be foods that make me feel good. It isn't much of a stretch to imagine that using diet to help depression is possible.

What are mood enhancing foods?

The fuel that we put in our bodies has obvious effects. If we eat the wrong food it can soon start to show itself physically in our weight and even our skin. Anyone who has seen the movie 'Supersize me' will have seen a good example of how food can affect us physically. As well affecting our bodies the food we eat will also affect our minds. This can be seen when we eat a bar a chocolate and it gives us a short boost in our mood. There are many mood enhancing foods but some are believed to be better for us in the long run; for example eating chocolate all the time would be really counterproductive.

How do mood enhancing foods work?

Different foods have different affects on the mind. Here are just two examples;

- Protein contains certain amino acids that increase the level of dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine in the brain. This has the effect of making us more alert and full of energy.

- Eating carbohydrates increases the production of neurotransmitters. One of these neurotransmitters that it increases is serotonin. This chemical causes the brain to feel calm and relaxed. Simple sugars cause this effect to occur quite rapidly but it is recommended that people use the slower acting complex carbohydrates.

All food will have different effects on our mood.

How to use diet to help depression?

Mood enhancing foods may be very useful in helping people dealing with this type of disorder. Many of the drugs that are given to treat some types of depression are aimed at increasing serotonin levels because this is believed to ease the condition. It is also possible to increase serotonin levels through our diets. Fatty acids such as Omega 3 have also been shown to be really useful as a mood improver.

While we may be able to use diet to help depression we should not attempt to use it as a replacement for professional advice. Treating many forms of depression with mood enhancing foods alone will probably not be appropriate.

Sources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/healthyminds/everyone/home/goodmoodfood.shtml

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050323134559.htm

http://nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/does_food_affect_mood