A Healthy Diet for Dealing with Depression

I am so thankful to my adult daughter for for turning me on to this website and all it has to off! I am over one week out and have not only lost weight already, but improved my flexability, walked daily and over all been more active as well as improved my way of thinking! Thank you forall the great support and information! - 2/12/2013 10:19:11 AM

1. Eat brain food aka saturated fat and cholesterol, that is what your brain runs on. A very good choice is extra virgin cocnut oil (the one that smells like coconut).

2. Avoid foods that throw your hormone system out of wack: worst food ever is soy that in not fermented, it messes bid time with your hormones.

3. get enough iodine in your system, this you need for your thyroid, also available as a suplement (lugol's)

4. get rid of the processed salts and use keltic seasalt instead, wich is actualy a mineral complex, bur dont forget to eat some fat with that otherwise your body can't digest it properly.

5. Liver from healthy animals is a true vitamin boost or go for fermented cod liver oil. - 2/9/2013 6:28:33 PM

Definitely have your thyroid checked. Depression is actually one of the symptoms of being hypothyroid (low thyroid). It was one of the symptoms I had, and the depression went away once I was on the right dosage of thyroid medication. - 2/9/2013 1:08:12 PM

Cut wheat from your diet and increase fat substantially. As long as you keep sugar and starch low you can eat plenty of good fat. Best fat? Coconut oil! - 2/9/2013 11:54:53 AM

Try eliminating ALL wheat products and see if the depression lifts. - 2/9/2013 11:28:26 AM

This is very true! I have been eating better this past month trying to take out processed foods, salt sugars, and eating food that is good for me. I have every food group and trying to cut out white flour, greasy food, and what not. I am on the opposite even though. I need to gain weight and not lose it. Anyway, I have lots of energy; my mood has switched so much! I can’t believe it is the middle of winter and I don’t feel hardly depressed. I have been fighting for the past 2 years depression and loneliness and in January I started a new life style with food change and I feel so great! I added more fruit, whole grains, yes whole grains people be careful about what you’re eliminating. If don’t have a gluten allergy or sensitivity don’t take it out of your diet. Fact is we need “good” carbs and good fat in our diets to function. I hate fad diets I see people go on. They just starve themselves and then when they eat normal again their body gains everything back. Just eat proportionally and get out and move your butt! Weights lose and gain is a slow process when doing it right and healthy! Oh and if you aren’t diabetic throughout artificial sweeteners don’t use them! FYI

Oats and good cereals are great for me. I admit Oatmeal with blueberries or Yogurt, with blueberries, and granola give me lots of energy in the morning and I don’t feel groggy. The foods that make me sleepy are Pasta and thick white bread (I can eat thin slices in a Sandwich and I am fine), with lots of cheesy sauce, also huge portions of meat. When I balance the portions out and add more veggies I don’t feel that way. I don’t think you need to eliminate meat or grains just portion them out right and pay attention to the grains you are using. As a person also trying to gain weight taking out carbs is dangerous! If you think grains and wheat is making you feel bad maybe you need to be tested for a gluten allergy. That could be what is really wrong not the fact we “shouldn’t” eat them.
- 2/9/2013 8:54:47 AM

THIS ARTICLE WAS VERY HELPFUL. - 2/9/2013 8:33:22 AM

Interesting article. I've definitely noticed a correlation between my quality of sleep and my mood. - 7/29/2012 5:09:54 PM

Interesting - 2/24/2012 12:30:55 PM

No wheat !
If one googles wheat allergies on the first list one can find that it can cause depression and lethargy. I have found this to be very true in my case. I do think the carb/sugar blood level evening could be advantages. Healthy (high quality) meat fat is good.
I wonder if the correlation between hi sugar fruits and longer days has been explored. Especially by the pre history diet fans. It does make sense that elevated d vitamin to handle the sugar levels. I just try to have in season food. It's better for vitamin retrieval and less impact ecologically (transportation etc).
I suggest trying a wheat free diet for a minimum of two week and see what your body and mind does. I no longer need allergy meds for hay fever and asthma this took a while of wheat free living. Wheat is in so many products beer included. Spelt is wheat. Anything gluten free is wheat free. Flour is wheat. Just to name a few that I have been asked about. There are many replacements now so you can have cookies and bread. I choose to rarely have them. - 2/24/2012 11:00:16 AM

I whole-heartedly (and NOT whole-wheatedly) agree that removing grains from the diet is a very positive health move for most people. They are largely empty calories and cause a wealth of metabolic and digestive problems for a large percentage of people. Much better to get your nutritional needs met by lower glycemic veggies, which are gut-friendly as well as waist-friendly.

And take into consideration that much of the wheat supply is already made up of genetically modified product, which complicates the already complex issues. - 2/24/2012 10:20:32 AM

I have spent the last year in agony. I was tired, depressed, felt like I had weights on my legs and hands, tingling running up my spine and never slept more than two hours at a time. I finally told my doctor that V-D supplimentation was not working. He tested and found out I had severe allergies to wheat and dairy. I took those two things out of my diet and magically I dropped 30 pounds, But, the exhaustion and tingling had not gone away. So, to the endocrinologist I went. No B-12 in my body. Started the shots twice a month. I am sleeping and the tingling stopped. Depression went away. I do believe that a work up from a good doctor is the best medicine. Not every case is the same. I was ready to head to the psychiatrist and beg for anti-depressants. That would not have been the answer. Before heading that route, make sure that there is nothing physically wrong. - 2/24/2012 7:34:48 AM

I have to take exception to the advice about eating whole grains and wheat of any kind, which cause extreme blood sugar instability. There are many studies showing that roller-coaster blood sugars have a negative effect on mood and depression. Any kind of wheat will raise your blood sugar as much as eating straight, refined sugar. If you don't believe me, eat some and test it yourself. I cut out wheat and all other types of high glycemic index carbs, including oats, from my diet. I'm now free of blood sugar instability and the depression is also gone. - 2/24/2012 2:39:21 AM

I'm eating primarily now to lose weight. But I want to save this article for the future to see what improvements can be made that are just about weight loss. - 2/11/2012 9:43:43 AM

The ads were, indeed, irritating... HOWEVER, the value of this article was well worth the irritation. THANK YOU, Becky. Three years ago I ended up on Short-term medical leave for PTSD (non-military); one of the first things my GP did was make me promise to give up the low-carb lifestyle. I did and over the next 3 years I put on 10lbs. However, my strength, stamina, and mental acuity improved profoundly. We need to understand the relationships between carbohydrates, tryptophan, omega-3s and MENTAL performance just as much as we need to understand their relationship to our PHYSICAL performance.
Thanks again for the article. - 11/12/2011 11:09:48 AM