For approximately 7.6% of global population, anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders at some point in their life. Chances to get depression of women are almost twice to men, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Nearly you would admit you’re burdened, exhausted, stressed, and burnt out — but modifying what’s on our plates may help you feel so much better.
Healthy foods are one of the most dominating aspects of mental health as good nutrition plays a significant role in your emotional health. When you are surviving through depression, you might feel a bit overwhelming to eat the right foods.
However, some of the small changes you make to your diet may help decreasing your struggling with depression and put a positive effect on your daily life. These changes are quite simple just like interchanging the foods could be putting paid to your anxiety for foods that may lower the severity of your symptoms. Avoid over-eating your frequent comfort foods which only makes you feeling anxious and causes toxic diseases. Rather than, enjoy nutritious foods with mood-freshening properties. You’ll be thankful for it!
Foods That Help Fight Against Depression And Anxiety
Several pathways in your gut might affect your mental health and other anxiety symptoms. Gut plays a significant role regulating immune and neurological systems. Dealing with depression, along with several adequate therapies and treatments suggested by your doctor, a healthy diet may help you stimulate the gut pathway. Yet it can serve as the best way to help boost your mood. Taking a nutritious diet significantly reduces the depressive signs associated with anxiety. For this, you can focus on veggies, fruit, nuts, 100% whole grains, seeds, and unsweetened dairy products; they may help you in multiple ways at the biochemical level.
Here are some of the foods that can help relieve depression and anxiety. They are rich in nutrients your body needs to fight against inflammation in your brain, which leads to stress and anxiety.
1. Avocado
A medium-sized avocado is loaded with 4 grams of protein, healthy fats, and different kinds of vitamin like vitamin B, vitamin E12, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin B9, vitamin B6, and vitamin B5, that your brain needs in order to run smoothly. Vitamin B6 helps your body forming neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, to influence mood. Vitamin B including thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin, exert positive effects on your nervous system.
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin; it’s only available in foods like nuts and avocados that contain a high-fat content. Lack of these vitamins may lead to extreme anxiety. Avocados are also rich sources of stress-relieving heart-healthy fat that help lessen anxiety. Three-fourths of its calories are from fat (monounsaturated fat) in the form of oleic acid.
If you are an ice cream lover, enjoy avocado ice cream. Blending avocado with vanilla extract, ripe banana, almond milk, and sweetener will fulfill your vitamin need and boost your mind. Just freeze it for a few hours and then tip in, knowing you’re eating a delicious ice cream!
2. Yogurt
Yogurt provides essential minerals to stabilize mood. Yogurt provides probiotics or healthy bacteria to improve several aspects of your well-being by reducing inflammation and increasing formation of mood-boosting neurotransmitters, such as serotonin. Studies show that when you consume probiotic yogurt regularly, you are more likely to cope with stress than those who eat yogurt without probiotics.
4.4 ounces (125 grams) of yogurt twice on daily basis is recommended for women for at least 4 weeks to better control of the brain regions. As a result, emotions and sensation will be controlled effectively which are associated with lower anxiety levels.
Take yogurt in breakfast by swapping out milk with cereal. You will also feel protective effects against social anxiety symptoms like excess fear of happenings in which you may be judged, anxiety about offending someone, and stress about embarrassment or humiliation. In case you’re not a yogurt person, try mixing sauerkraut or a pickle into your lunch sandwich. You can also substitute miso, a traditional Japanese seasoning, for parmesan in soups or noodle dishes.
3. Salmon
Your brain needs the healthy dietary fats to function properly. Omega-3 fatty acids are highly effective to help relieve your anxiety. You can get omega-3 fatty acids in foods like salmon, soybeans, cold-pressed olive oil, chia seeds, and walnuts. Salmon helps regulating the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, which provides you soothing and relaxing effects.
It also contains vitamin D and the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). A diet containing omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and DHA is associated with reduced rates of anxiety because these nutrients help reducing inflammation and prevent brain cell dysfunction that is common in anxiety.
A diet rich in the omega-3 fatty acids just like salmon keeps cortisol and adrenaline level from spiking when you’re feeling depressed. You can try out different combinations when cooking salmon according to your own spices and flavor choices. You can also sprinkle the fish with some thinly sliced lemon. For the best benefit, add salmon to your diet 2–3 times per week.
4. Dark chocolate
Adding dark chocolate into your diet may be helpful to reduce anxiety. It contains flavanols, like epicatechin and catechin, which function as antioxidants and benefit brain functions by its neuroprotective effects. Additionally, flavanols can stimulate flow of blood to the brain and improve effects of the cell-signaling pathways. Such effects may make you adjusting better to the depressed situations that can result in severe anxiety and other mood disasters.
You must love dark chocolate’s taste. Sound researchers suggest that dark chocolate’s functions in your brain health may be due to its sweetest taste, which is definitely comforting for you with stress.
If you consume dark chocolate twice on daily basis for at least 2 weeks, level of your anxiety may reduce. You can best consume dark chocolate in moderation, as it’s good in calories and easy to overeat. Take this sweet a 1.0- to 1.5-ounce serving at a time.
5. Asparagus
Large numbers of studies have proved that people who cope with constant stress and depression may suffer from a significant decrease of folate (a mood-boosting nutrient). Asparagus is one vegetable that includes a great quantity of folate. Only one cup of it can supply two-thirds of your daily recommended folate value.
Along with folate, asparagus is also rich in vitamins A, C, E and K, potassium, fiber, and some others beneficial trace element like chromium. It helps preventing the formation of too much homocysteine in your body. Homocysteine is an amino acid that can prevent certain nutrients from reaching the brain.
You can eat asparagus in multiple ways like grilling it to serve as a side dish, as a snack on fries, as a substitute dipping cook asparagus into salsa, hummus, or a bean dip.
6. Blueberries
Antioxidants have been proved the best nutrient to cope with depression. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are the highest antioxidant containing foods. When you’ll start taking antioxidants, there’ll be a significantly lower depression score because they go around patching your cells and prohibiting from getting cancer and other illnesses.
Blueberries also contain vitamin C which your body craves the most in stress. Its sweetness is the best option as an immune booster along with sugars to throw off the bacterial balance in the gut that can increase stress and anxiety.
Foods that can trigger depression
Just as there are foods that may help you fight against depression, a few others can make depression worse. These foods may include:
- Alcohol
- Excessive caffeine
- Fried foods like battered chicken, chips, French fries
- Simple sugars, most probably sweetened beverages, cakes, candies, cookies, and non-whole wheat grains
The bottom line
Depression is the most intricate mental health problem that requires several approaches to manage it effectively. Other than medications and therapies, the foods you eat may provide the best support to your mental health by reducing anxiety symptoms and promoting better mental health.
Make sure to seek for medical assistance before making significant changes to your diet in depression. Plus, try to be patient with yourself when you begin trying new foods and give your body more time to regulate to the changes you are making. Adding good food choices to your diet can leave a long-lasting impact on your emotional wellness.
Give the above listed food swaps a try and observe if modifying your diet helps alleviate your anxiety.
