AYBE THE OLD SAYING "you are what you eat" should be changed to "you feel what you eat."
Certain nutrients can help ease depression, but they are not a substitute for conventional treatments such as medication or counseling.
About one in every six Americans experiences major depression at some point in their lives, and more experience milder cases. I am no exception. I remember feeling as if I had fallen into a deep, dark hole for several months after my first marriage ended.
A person need not be suicidal or even tearful to be considered depressed. Other symptoms include a feeling of sadness or emptiness, loss of energy, inability to concentrate, loss of pleasure in regular activities, restlessness, irritability, feelings of hopelessness or guilt, sleeping too little or too much, vague aches and pains, digestive problems, and changes in weight and appetite.
Eating well can improve the results of therapy and medicines, some studies show. It is particularly important to get enough fiber-rich carbohydrate foods, as well as several B vitamins and omega-3 fats.
Complex carbs boost moodsEating carbohydrates raises levels of serotonin, a brain chemical that makes you feel happy, which is why some people binge on cookies when feeling sad.
Unfortunately, if you eat lots of sugary foods, your blood sugar and brain chemistry can go on a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows. Better carbohydrates are fiber-rich foods, such as whole-wheat bread, popcorn, pears, sweet potatoes and the like. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables are better carbs because they are digested more slowly and help keep serotonin levels even.
B happyThe B vitamins, most importantly folic acid, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12, appear to help fight depression. These B vitamins work together in a variety of ways and are involved in the production of brain chemicals.
Interestingly, low levels of any of this trio of vitamins can increase homocysteine in the blood. Homocysteine is a chemical that is linked not just to depression but also to heart attacks and strokes, as well as dementia.
This is especially important for elderly people, because many do not eat enough folate-rich foods, and our ability to absorb vitamin B-12 declines as we age. One German study found 30 percent of the elderly were deficient in folate, and up to 60 percent lacked vitamin B-12.
Low levels of folate and vitamin B-12 have been linked to depression in studies of thousands of people in Finland and California.
A common genetic variation may make some people use folic acid inefficiently, but people can overcome that problem by taking supplements, Welsh research shows.
Psychiatrists at Massachusetts General Hospital found that Prozac was more likely to help depressed people who had normal levels of folate in the blood, compared to people who were deficient in folate. And people with low levels of folate were more likely to relapse into depression, despite taking Prozac, and were more likely to resist treatment, according to Harvard scientists.
British reviewers concluded that folate supplements would be a good addition to other treatments of depression during the illness, and colleagues at Tufts University in Boston recommend taking folate supplements for a year after recovery from depression.
Because folate works with other B vitamins, I would recommend taking it in a regular multivitamin-mineral supplement rather than taking it alone.
You also can find B vitamins in foods, particularly nuts, beans, whole grains and leafy green vegetables.
Happy fatsCertain types of fats also seem linked to depression. The research is less clear, but it seems to show that people who don't eat enough omega-3 fats, or eat too much of the competing omega-6 fats, are more prone to depression and suicide. Omega-6 fats are found in corn, sunflower, cottonseed oils and corn-fed beef.
According to research, North Americans eat 20 times more omega-6s than omega-3s, but the ideal proportion would be only twice as many omega-6s compared with omega-3s, closer to what cave men got from wild game, vegetables and nuts.
Some people theorize that the change in our eating patterns affects our brain chemistry and caused more people to be depressed now than in the past. The research is mixed. Some studies show no link to omega-3 fats and depression, while others show people who eat less fish are more depressed.
Fish-oil supplements may help ward off depression, but the research is still unclear. It seems prudent to recommend instead that depressed people eat fatty fish at least twice a week, similar to the American Heart Association's guidelines. By fatty fish, I do not mean fried fish but instead those rich in omega-3 fats: wild Alaskan salmon (fresh or canned), chunk light canned tuna, sardines and the like. These are least likely to be contaminated by pollutants.
My version of a happy meal would include both omega-3 fats and B vitamins. For example, a tuna or salmon-salad sandwich on whole-wheat bread, drizzled with teriyaki sauce and paired with a salad of fresh spinach and mandarin oranges. Of course, it takes a lot more than one meal to improve moods, but eating well over time, combined with medicines and talk therapy, can help people feel better.
JENNIFER MOTL, a registered dietitian, welcomes reader questions via her Web site, brighteating.com, or mailed to Nutrition, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.