How what you eat affects your mood
By: Monica Morales
Researchers have long wondered why people living in the lower Mediterranean countries don’t get depressed as often as people living in northern Europe. One thing they discovered: It isn’t the sunny days or a nice blue ocean to look at.
It’s their diet.
They studied more than 10,000 Spaniards who filled out a long food questionnaire. Then they checked for depression some years later. Those who consumed more olive oil and less fat, had a moderate intake of alcohol and dairy products, and ate a lot of beans, fruit, nuts, cereal, vegetables and fish were far less likely to be depressed.
Doctors at Tufts University offer this happy-plate advice:
- Eat breakfast and have healthy snacks to avoid drops of blood sugar.
- Try complex carbohydrates, like whole grains, for increased feeling of calm.
- Protein can boost alertness.
- Folate is important. It is in fortified cereals, leafy vegetables, okra, asparagus, bananas, melons, beans, orange juice and tomato juice.
- Don’t overdo alcohol. It is a powerful depressant.
- Coffee is an antidepressant, but too much can give you the jitters.
- Skip the chocolate. It improves mood at first, but makes you feel even worse when its effect wears off.