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Features NutritionEating Certain Foods May Stave Off Depressionby Emily Bender It’s summertime and we have lots of opportunities to have fun outside, to hang out with friends on our occasional balmy evenings and to relish the sweetness of juicy peaches and refreshing raspberries. For people who suffer from depression, however, any season can seem as gloomy as a rainy January morning. Depression is not simple sadness. Depression is a persistent feeling of sadness and hopelessness lasting more than two weeks and that interferes with the activities of daily life. Depression can also be characterized by loss of interest in life, loss of pleasure, inability to feel emotion, changes in appetite that may lead to weight gain or loss, guilt, fatigue and insomnia, as well as thoughts of death or suicide in extreme cases.Biochemically, depression is caused by imbalances in brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Most people are familiar with Serotonin as the neurotransmitter that makes you feel happy and relaxed, but there are several others that play a role in our moods: epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and GABA. In addition, as any woman will tell you, our hormones can play a role in our moods. If your body doesn’t make enough of any of these neurotransmitters, your mood can be affected. For example, if your brain does not have enough GABA, you may feel anxious and have difficulty sleeping. If you are low in epinephrine, your energy may be low. If you are low in dopamine, your pleasure response may be deadened. But wait, isn’t depression a response to a bad situation? How does the brain chemistry fit in here? It’s true that depression can start with a difficult event, such as the loss of a partner or loss of a job. However, through the great mysteries of the mind-body connection, the outside world can affect the inside world. If you are under constant stress for a long period of time, you may deplete your stores of epinephrine and norepinephrine. If your diet does not provide the building blocks for your feel-good chemicals, your body will be unable to make them at all. Some people simply may be at a genetic disadvantage and have a harder time making all the chemicals they need to feel good—notice how depression can run in families. Many people choose to take antidepressant medications to alleviate their depression. These medications artificially increase the levels of active neurotransmitters in your brain. Selective Serotonin Re-uptake inhibitors like Prozac and Zoloft, for instance, trick your brain into re-using serotonin that it would normally discard. These medications have been improved quality of life for many individuals. For those people seeking a drug-free alternative, there is hope. In her groundbreaking book The Mood Cure, Julia Ross of Recovery Systems in Mill Valley explains how nutrition and targeted supplements can give your body the tools it needs to make the neurotransmitters that balance out your moods. Your brain makes neurotransmitters from amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. A diet that is low in protein may not provide adequate fodder for happy moods. Increasing intake of protein, especially animal protein, can give your brain the needed ingredients. In fact, Ross suggests eating a whopping 15-20 grams of protein per meal. That’s equivalent to three eggs, or about 3 ounces meat or poultry. In order to take the protein foods, break them down and then make the individual amino acids into neurotransmitters, your body needs a few more ingredients. Fresh vegetables and fruits contain vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that your body needs for digestion of food and construction of the chemicals that make your systems run efficiently. In addition, moderate amounts of whole grains and beans can be supportive to this process. What does that mean in practical terms? Draw a circle (your plate). Divide it in half. One half should be filled with veggies. Then you can divide the remaining half in half again, so you have two quarters. Those represent “protein foods” and “starchy foods.” For example, your plate might contain a big salad of mixed organic greens with an olive oil vinaigrette, a palm-of-your-hand-sized piece of free-range chicken and _ cup of quinoa. You might even want to put some nuts on your salad and butter on your quinoa to add some sustaining fats. Fats can help sooth your nerves and keep your blood sugar balanced. If you are dealing with long-term depression, diet alone may not be enough to alleviate your symptoms, and you may wish to use specific amino acid supplements to provide the pre-cursors for neurotransmitters you may lack. Each one of these brain chemicals needs a specific amino acid. Serotonin is made from tryptophan, dopamine from d-phenylalanine, epinephrine and nor-epinephrine from Tyrosine and l-phenylalanine. Making specific supplement recommendations for different types of depression is beyond the scope of this article. However, Ross gives very specific suggestions in her book that can guide you. Do not take amino acid supplements if you are already on anti-depressant medications. You could end up with and excess of Neurotransmitters, which can be dangerous. Dietary changes alone are safe, however. In an age when anti-depressant meds are considered both normal and effective, some of you may wonder why I am suggesting a different path. The simple answer is that I have seen this program work and with no side effects. I have seen lives vastly improved through healthy diets and amino acid supplements. If you are struggling with depression and looking for an alternative to drugs, I encourage you to try it. Emily is a certified Nutrition consultant, who practices in Fairfax. Submit your questions about food and health to her at Emily@gourmethelping.com. |
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