Depression and Diet – How They are Linked

If you are feeling the blues this season and you don’t know why, you may need to address your diet. Just like everything else having to do with your body, your diet affects your mood. A bad diet can bring down the mood of even the healthiest or mentally upright person. Depression is a natural part of life, so no one should feel upset by experiencing it. That being said, it is good to know and understand how the food you eat effects your mood so that you can take an active role in regulating your mental state. If a wave of depression strikes you at the wrong time or place, it can have serious repercussions.

How does your diet affect your depression?

Warnings against the dangers of eating junk food have been pretty prevalent for a while now. You probably do not need this article to tell you that junk food is responsible for instigating depression. The empty calories found in junk food as a result of the white bread and refined sugars, are pretty bad for keeping your mental health up. They not only suppress some of the functions responsible for creating mood regulating hormones like serotonin, they also starve your body of vital nutrients needed to regulate your mood.

The more junk food you eat with empty calories, the less vitamins and minerals you will get from healthy foods. Your brain needs vitamins and minerals like omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D to function properly. This includes the production of vital mood regulating hormones.

A healthy diet also keeps your weight at a good place. When you are obese, you run the risk of not enough blood getting to your brain and vital organs. This would naturally mean not enough essential nutrients were getting to these organs as well.