Feeling down from time to time is a normal part of life-but when emptiness and despair take hold and won't go away-it may be depression. More than just the temporary "blues," the lows of depression make it tough to function and enjoy life like you once did. Hobbies and friends don't interest you like they used to; you're exhausted all the time and just getting through the day can be overwhelming. When you're depressed-things may feel hopeless-but with help and support you can get better.
A simple lack of nutrients is one of the most frequent, but least recognized causes of depression. The most common deficiency in people with depression is a lack of one of the B vitamins, which are powerful regulators of mood. Nutrient deficiencies in calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium may also contribute to depressive symptoms. Correcting deficiencies, when present, often relieves depression.
In this article I will outline a basic list of foods for helping to fight depression-that are nutrient rich-and sure to keep you feeling your best.
Instructions
1. Include brown rice in your diet. It contains Vitamins B1 and B3 and folic acid. Brown rice is also a low-glycemic food, which means it releases glucose into the bloodstream gradually, preventing sugar lows and mood swings. Brown rice also provides many of the trace minerals we need to function properly, as well as being a high-fiber food that can keep the digestive system healthy and lower cholesterol. Instant varieties of rice do not offer these benefits. Any time you see "instant" on a food label, avoid it.
2. Be sure to get your Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Research has shown that depressed people often lack a fatty acid known as EPA. Participants in a 2002 study featured in the Archives of General Psychiatry took just a gram of fish oil each day and noticed a 50-percent decrease in symptoms such as anxiety, sleep disorders, unexplained feelings of sadness, suicidal thoughts and decreased sex drive. Omega-3 fatty acids can also lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health. Get Omega-3s through walnuts, flaxseed and oily fish like salmon or tuna.
3. Eat whole-grain oats, which contain folic acid, pantothenic acid and Vitamins B6 and B1. Oats help lower cholesterol, are soothing to the digestive tract and help avoid the blood sugar crash-and-burn that can lead to crabbiness and mood swings. Other whole grains such as kamut, spelt and quinoa are also excellent choices for delivering brain-boosting nutrients and avoiding the pitfalls of refined grains such as white flour.
4. Include cabbage, which contains Vitamin C and folic acid. Cabbage protects against stress, infection and heart disease, as well as many types of cancers, according to the American Association for Cancer Research. There are numerous ways to get cabbage into your diet: toss it in a salad instead of lettuce, use cabbage in place of lettuce wraps, stir fry it in your favorite Asian dish, make some classic cabbage soup or juice it. To avoid gas after eating cabbage, add a few fennel, caraway or cumin seeds before cooking. Cabbage is also a good source of blood-sugar-stabilizing fiber, and the raw juice of cabbage is a known cure for stomach ulcers.
Tags: folic acid, lower cholesterol, Brown rice, Brown rice also, grains such
