Eating your way into a happier day isn’t just a bouncy mantra. A balanced diet, especially the Mediterranean, offers medicine for the brain as well as the body.
Vicent Balanzá, a psychiatrist involved in a recent scientific review, writes, “We had scientific evidence that the Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cognitive impairment. Now we also know it reduces the risk of depression.”
Mental health professionals know that expecting patients to recover by simply popping a pill, such as Paxil, is unrealistic and simplistic. Lifestyle interventions to treat anxiety, depression and other mental disorders combine exercise, stress management and targeted nutrition.
The brain needs a number of key nutrients to operate properly explains Balanzá, particularly, “Polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-3, essential amino acids, B-group vitamins (B12 and folate), vitamin D and minerals like zinc, magnesium and iron. A high-quality diet, such as the Mediterranean, provides all of these, but in cases of deficiencies, nutritional supplements are advisable.”
Mood foods include those loaded in tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin (turkey, cheese, peanut butter), complex carbs, and B-rich foods, such as leafy greens, beans, meats, nuts and eggs. Fish packed with omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, lake trout, herring, sardines, tuna) improves depression, while protein stimulates brain chemicals norepinephrine and dopamine, which, like serotonin, are neurotransmitters that carry impulses between nerve cells.
“The ideal for mood-boosting,” explains nutritionist Manuel Villacorta, MS, RD, “is to combine complex carbohydrates and protein, and to spread your meals throughout the day.”
