'However, there are other causes of depression that are based on diet and the aspects of feeding. Therefore, this paper will explore the nutritional factors which contribute to the cause and the development of depression in people. It will also explore ways in which one can overcome depression by having certain foods and avoiding others'.
There are very few people in the world today who understand the relationship between depression and diet that is nutrition. What many understand is the relationship between the physical illness and nutritional deficiencies. Depression, in this case, is something which is regarded because of emotions or biochemistry of the body. Depression as per the WHO has been rated as the leading cause of diseases in most of the developed countries. In most cases, depression has been regarded as rooted from fatigue, loss of energy, poor concentration, and feeling of guilt or unworthiness (Khan & Alam Khan, 2016). However, there are other causes of depression which are based on diet and the aspects of feeding. Therefore, this paper will explore the nutritional factors which contribute to the cause and the development of depression in people. It will also explore ways in which one can overcome depression by having certain foods and avoiding others.
There is a sense in which one of the obvious yet an underrated factor for the cause and the development of mental health and in this case, depression is nutrition. Diet plays a role in the cause, duration and the severity of depression (Phillips, 2009). Many of the noticeable diets which cause depression are also witnessed during the continuation of the depression. In this case, skipping meals, desire for sweet foods and poor appetite are witnessed during this context of depression. The subject of neuroscience and nutrition has engaged in a study which seeks to proof that there is a correlation between human factors and matters of human cognition, emotions, and behaviors. There is a sense in which one cab ascertain that depression is majorly an issue of the mind and in this case, the brain is an essential component of the body whose functioning can be dictated by nutrition (Sanchez-Villegas & Martínez-González, 2013). Therefore, the nutritional value and content which one gives the brain will affect his psychological wellbeing and cause positive change if sufficient or cause a negative impact on the body if there is a deficiency.
The human brain receives around 60 liters of blood circulated into it in an hour, and this is for oxygen provision, removal of toxins from it, and deliver nutrients. If the blood which is circulated in there is having a nutritional deficiency or is having components which do not belong there, it will be inevitable cause the brain to malfunction (Jacka & Berk, 2012). This therefore will cause interference of how the brain functions and might result in psychological issues of the person involved. Researchers have taken cases of people who suffer from depression and checked on their diets. What was determined was that these people ussually make very poor nutrition choices and their diet is ussually far from adequate. They make poor dieting choices and choose foodstuffs which increase their rate of falling into depression. Recent studies have indicated that there is a link between those people who have done suicide and the level of serotonin. It, therefore, implicated that lower levels of this body neuro- transmitter can lead to complete insensitivity to the future consequences (Phillips, 2009). Therefore, it can trigger impulsive, tricky and aggressive behaviors which can culminate to suicide something which can be termed as inward aggression.
This neuro transmitter knows as serotonin helps the human body to regulate sleep and appetite, as well as inhibit pain and mediate moods. 95% of this neurotransmitter is produced in the gastrointestinal tract, and the tract is lined up with millions of neurons and nerve cells. It is therefore determinable that digestive systems workings could control the moods of the person as well as the digestion of food (Jacka & Berk, 2012). What more to this is that the wall lining of the digestive system is lined up with Bacteria which asset in the production of serotonin. These bacteria play an essential role in the health of a person because they protect the lining of the digestive system from bad bacteria, manage the level in which one will absolve nutrients from the food and limit inflations in the stomach.
Studies have indicated that those people who take probiotics have their perception of stress, levels of anxiety and mental outlooks are improved. It has been that diets which are traditional like the Mediterranean or Japanese diet could inhibit the development of depression. In this case, the risk of depression is 27% lower than those who eat other diets (Weyers, 2000). Research has compounded this since many of the traditional diets ussually have many varieties of healthy foodstuffs such as vegetables, fruits, seafood, unprocessed nuts and cereals and fish. Also, this kind of diet is modest because it includes moderated levels of dairy products and meat. These people also have a likely hood that the will avoid feeding of processed and chemically preserved foodstuffs, refined foods, and sugars (Weyers, 2000).
There are several kinds of foodstuffs which are at the disposal of people which induce depression and are a detriment to the overall health of a person. One of them is refined sugars, in that even though they can provide a feeling of sweetness and the pleasant rush of energy for a few minutes (Khan & Alam Khan, 2016). However, what refined sugars do to the human body is that they cause al the blood glucose levels to go down rapidly. This causes sugar deficiency which induces sleep depression, disrupts moods and causes sleep disorders which are some of the symptoms of depression.
Another foodstuff which can cause depression is the artificial sweeteners which are found in most of the soft drinks and junk snacks. One of them is aspartame and has been linked to causing depression highly. This is because it causes the blockage of the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. This causes insomnia, mood dips, and headaches. It is therefore wise to avoid the artificial sweeteners which can cause depression and increase its severity, especially in Equal and NutraSweet (Khan & Alam Khan, 2016).
Another foodstuff in this category is processed foods which include the processed carbohydrates, such as snack foods, cereals, pasta and white bread. This is because these kinds of foodstuffs ussually have the same impact in the body as refined sugars (Khan & Alam Khan, 2016). After the boost of insulin which one gets with the initial feeding, one is bound to have irritation and fatigue. The other foodstuff in this category is hydrogenated oils. These are the kind of oils which are found in fried calamari, fried chicken, French fries or fried cheese sticks. Any foods which are cooked with trans fats and with hydrogenated oils are ussually causes of depression (Khan & Alam Khan, 2016). Also, it is wise to avoid the saturated fats such as these found in high fat dairy, deli-meats, and butter. This is because saturated fats, trans-fats, and hydrogenated oils prevent adequate blood flow to the brain because it causes the arteries to clog.
Alcohol is a drink which has a direct effect on the brain since it functions by depressing the central nervous system. This can be worsened with mood disorders, and therefore it is advisable to desist from indulging in alcohol. The human emotion, motor functions, senses, reasoning, thinking, and understanding are all done by the central nervous system (Phillips, 2009). Therefore, alcohol slows these essential body activities which are the exacerbating symptoms which cause depression. Also in this category is caffeine. Some research has attributed caffeine to depression despite it being a stimulant. In this case, it induces depression and anxiety since it ruins sleep, by making it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep where these disruptions ussually affect the moods. This is because it causes tremors, agitation, and nervousness (Phillips, 2009). In this aspect, one can void this by staying away from energy drinks and excess coffee intake.
Even though most of the foods which find a way in the table have been mentioned as causes of depression. However, there are foods with some nutrients which are healthy to the brain and therefore necessary to the health of the brain. One of the food stuffs essential in this case is omega 3 fatty acids. These are found in algae oil, fish, seeds, and nuts. This is because they have been attributed to the healthy development of the rain and have been linked to the inhibition of the Alzheimer’s and AHD. Another component of these foodstuffs are the B vitamins which include the green leafy vegetables, whole grains, eggs, seafood and eggs (Sanchez-Villegas & Martínez-González, 2013). There have been links that deficiency in Vitamin B have been linked to depression.
Studies conducted by the British journal of Psychiatry has found that supplanting these with B12, B6, and folic acid improves one’s ability to respond to ant depressant medications. Having Vitamin D deficiency can be associated with mood disorders and depression. Therefore, one should eat fortified breakfast cereals, milk, juices and bread (Sanchez-Villegas & Martínez-González, 2013). Selenium which is found in poultry, cod, walnuts and brazil nuts is an essential mineral for a healthy brain. It has been determined that selenium works in the human body cells by balancing of antioxidants. Therefore, there is a link between low selenium and depression, and therefore the regular eating of these foodstuffs can increase the chances of being not depressed (Sanchez-Villegas & Martínez-González, 2013).
The scriptures are very categorical on how God designed the human body and the dietary and nutrition which he advised humans to take. This in the sense that in 1 Corinthians 10:31 teaches that “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” This is an indicator that God intended human to use every aspect of their lives for his glory. This is attested in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 teaches that “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body” and therefore should be well taken care of. God is the provider of all things, and he has permitted mankind to utilize the provisions. This is in Genesis 1:29 where man is told to “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food”.
Also, God gave people choices to choose what their diet just as Paul taught in Romans 14:1-23 in that One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? This is also attested in the story of Daniel, (Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego) where they put the king's sumptuous diet to test compared to theirs of grains and vegetables. Therefore, there is a sense in which the scriptures give people advise on the foods to eat and those to avoid for the better of their health.
To conclude, one’s diet can cause health problems, and one of them are foodstuffs which cause depression. This is a mental problem which can make people not to perform well in their activities. In this case, it is advisable for one to check what they feed and induce a healthy diet to reduce chances of being depressed. This is because acute depression caused by other social or economic factors can be made severe by the diet one eats. Therefore, eating healthy and avoiding some foodstuffs can result in a reduction of depression.
References
Jacka, F., & Berk, M. (2012). Depression, diet and exercise. The Medical Journal Of Australia, 1(4), 21-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.5694/mjao12.10508
Khan, S., & Alam Khan, R. (2016). Healthy Diet a Tool to Reduce Anxiety and Depression. Journal Of Depression And Anxiety, 05(02). http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2167-1044.1000220
Phillips, F. (2009). Diet and depression. Independent Nurse, 2009(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/indn.2009.17.4.76591
Sanchez-Villegas, A., & Martínez-González, M. (2013). Diet, a new target to prevent depression. BMC Medicine, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-11-3
Weyers, J. (2000). A Mediterranean diet (MED) vs a low fat (LF) diet improves depression independent of cholesterol in coronary heart disease patients(CHD). Heart, Lung And Circulation, 9(3), A113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1443-9506.2000.06954.x
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