From food to mood, and from mood to food

Well, from mood to food – we already know all about it. Emotional eating is not the way to go, and there is good advice on how to overcome the habit.

To me, it is more interesting how food can improve mood (from food to mood). True to my preaching that we should curate information, here is a brief advice on how some types of depression could be alleviated by diet. Severe depression seems to be linked to brain inflammation, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Inflammation, however, could be treated with diet, instead of medications, as discussed in the video “Anti-inflammatory diet for depression” by Dr. Michael Greger.

According to the video, depression is best addressed by reducing and even eliminating meat from our diet, since endotoxins in the meat induce immediate inflammatory response in our bodies. Switching to a plant-based diet is encouraged. A bit different recommendations are given in this article on seasonal depression. However, these different resources of information do agree that depression treatment would benefit from the abundance of plant-derived meals: the ones that include dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, collard greens, and chard), peas, beans, mushrooms, fruit, sweet potatoes, and sauerkraut (and other fermented foods). 

The last mentioned category of fermented foods brings another current discovery: depression might be affected by the bacteria colonizing our bodies, especially the bacteria in the gut. Therefore, eating plain yogurt with live cultures might also counteract depression (not exactly plant-based diet!). Here is a recipe on how to make your own yogurt if you decide to support the healthy bacteria in your intestines.