The Link: Diet and Depression

Most people eat when they are depressed. It is possible that they may not realize that food itself could be the cause chemical depression.

When someone is depressed, energy level and the action falls. Enthusiasm for most things, including meals, is lost.

Consequently, feeding habits may suffer. Thus, the growth or unwanted weight loss, inadequate absorption of vitamins and minerals and alcohol abuse are often associated with depression.

In fact, it is a process that takes place in both directions: on the one hand, depression causes weight variations, on the other hand, obesity or anorexia can be responsible for causing depression.

Each person is faced with a slight depression from time to time. This is a non-pathological is high on the life itself. But, if its expression does not disappear after a few weeks, may be diagnosed as clinical depression.

Its treatment involves manipulating hormone levels or brain that produce pleasure or satisfaction and stress reduction.

In this case, if the patient’s diet consists of junk food such as ‘fast food’, it is possible to confront a battle already lost since the junk food can have a major influence on these hormones as we shall see.

Influence of diet

Food largely influences the behavior of the brain. A poor diet, excessive food type fast food is a cause of depression.

What you eat controls the levels of brain chemicals, that of neurotransmitters, which regulate behavior and are in close contact with our state of mind.

• Most known neurotransmitters associated with disposal are serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline.
• When the brain produces serotonin, tension is reduced.
• When producing dopamine or noradrenaline but we are in a state of alert, with a tendency to think and act more quickly.

Eating fruits and vegetables (carbohydrates) and protein-rich foods like turkey, tuna or chicken increase amino acid levels in the brain, which has as consequence the growth and production of serotonin with a calming effect.

Foods rich in protein, on the other hand, encourages the production of dopamine and norepinephrine, which increase the alert status and power of concentration.

Try to include a source of protein in your diet several times a day, especially when you need to rinse your mind and increased energy.

An excellent contribution to be extracted from protein: beans, peas, low beef, cheese degreased fish, milk, poultry products, soybeans, yogurt.

Dopamine.

It seems that feeding ourselves with ‘junk food’ reduces the natural ability of the body to feel pleasure by interfering with dopamine receptors.

Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have found that obese adults had fewer dopamine receptors than healthy individuals.

Consequently, these individuals are able to feel pleasure when eating, but this is not true when you have some other sources of pleasure, which leads to various forms of depression and increasing obesity.

Noradrenaline is a hormone that helps in case of stress.

The mechanism by which food-type “fast food” interfere with noradrenaline is not well known yet. Interference may be similar to the distortion of dopamine receptors.

Whatever the mechanism, however, is complicated by increased intake of salt in food.

Serotonin.

A study by the National Institute of Health in the UK revealed that oil derived from fast food meals cause severe damage to serotonin levels causing depression, anger, violence and suicidal behavior.

These problems can be transmitted from mother to fetus or, indicating the beginning of a diet since the identification task.

So, when children and teenagers eat fast food eats, the brain can be affected long term.

Doing even a parallel between increasing crime rates and increasing the percentage of oil used in the unhealthy diets of 38 industrialized countries have found a perfect correlation.

When eating foods high in carbohydrates (bread, whole grains, pasta) and vitamin D increase the level of serotonin in the brain which induces a calming effect with less anxiety.

Try to find a diet that was eradicated depression? Unfortunately, there has been a certain remove it.

Not carried out any studies which indicate a feeding program to improve symptoms of clinical depression. However it is recommended to eat Mediterranean-type diet including meat, chicken, seasonal vegetables and less imported or canned, dairy, very little red meat, eggs, wine and beer.

While these diets have a relatively high fat intake, consumers face a lower risk of coronary disease because the menus are healthy fats such as olive oil.

Diet rich in fatty fish such as sardines omega 3 oils which reduces blood cholesterol levels, lower blood sugar, is an antioxidant, imunoactivator, prevent gallstones.

So, researchers believe it is a connection between obesity and depression that can result from physiological changes that take place in the immune system and hormones.

To simplify matters for both health and budget tables are recommended to be limited to a “golden rule”: a protein, a vegetable and a healthy fat component.

They cover the basic elements of a table while providing basic and necessary steps to make things interesting.