Depression & food - what will help?

[losingitagain]

My name says it all... I am on meds, have therapy etc but am on a downward spiral and want to do everything I can to slow/ stop it before I lose it completely. I'm not sleeping well and am becoming increasingly anxious & more severely depressed. I will discuss this with my dr but in the meantime, what changes can I make to my diet to help?

I don't drink alcohol (at the moment, well occasionally but not often)
I drink very little caffeine - maybe 2 cups of tea and never after 2pm
I eat lots of fruit & veg and very little processed food
No fast food/ junk (other than the odd bit of homemade cake)
I have cut down on bread & stodgy carbs (only have a couple of times a week)

But is there anything I should eat that could help? Or anything else I should avoid?

I know I should exercise more. I'm working on that.

[NewYearNewStart]

I did a little bit of research on this but there are mood boosting foods out there, I will try and post a couple of links tomorrow but off the top of my head I know Turkey was one of them!

[MissMalaprop]

Bananas, apparently, are very good at helping with depression. I heard that from a friend who said she forced herself to eat two a day (doesn't like bananas) for a week and was amazed and how much better she felt.

[MissMalaprop]

Sorry, amazed at...

[Dior]

Message withdrawn

[losingitagain]

Thanks for your help - I can definitely eat bananas, that's an easy one to do.

I thought turkey might be one of those feelgood foods (isn't it do to with Tryptophan (sp)?) but I'm more or less vegetarian. I could force myself to eat it if it would help. I'll do more or less anything to stop feeling like this.

[losingitagain]

5 bananas a day might be pushing it a bit though

I do try to eat 'nice' stuff too - I've lost my appetite though so nothing really appeals.

[ZippiBabes]

i try this cos i have mood problems and eat lots of bananas i also take some supplements and eat oats and some other things if you want some more then cat me cos i am too tired

[losingitagain]

Thanks zippi, it's me - OR. Have namechanged in case my ex is lurking - don't want him to know how I am feeling because he always uses it against me.

I eat lots of oats. Am thinking I might need supplements or at least a decent daily vitamin. But no idea what will help.

[ornamentalhaggis]

Bananas contain tryptophan, an amino acid precursor to serotonon and also tyrosine,which is the precursor to dopamine. These are both known as the 'happy neurotransmitters'.

Other foods which contain these amino acids are milk, chicken, turkey, and leafy green vegetables.

Hope you feel better soon

[ZippiBabes]

i've no idea but i take evenign primrose big dose vit b and vit c and gingko if i could aford nit i would also take some more things

[Vacua]

omega 3 - I think it has to be pure EPA though (my understanding of this is more than a bit limited)

I know someone who manages her manic depression (heavily on the depressive side) purely through diet and exercise. She takes lots of supplements, I think B group vitamins. I'll have a look, got a detailed breakdown of her diet somewhere.

[NAB3wishesfor2008]

Bananas and anything else with serotonin in it.

[NAB3wishesfor2008]

Alcohol is a derpressant so if you can stay off it completely for a while it would help.

[ZippiBabes]

ok

i would say take omega 3
I also take vit B and C and the vening primrose as that should help with hormonal imbalance

definitely exercise as you know i find i am much better with the gym and swimming

don't have caffeine or alcohol..i mostly have this under control but if i don't eat enough then it seems to go hay wire

food bananas are good they have tryptophan and potassium and some other things i think, if you google tryptophan then you will find some other foods eg turkey, cunting mangoes, cheese, chocolate tho that also has caffeine but it does have the feel good chemicals

a low gi diet is good because as well as good things in the food balancing your blood sugar levels is essential

this is one reason for alcohol cravings your body craves te sugar in the alcohol as a quick fix

any sugar cravings or carb cravings are a sign that you haven't balanced the blood sugar..so check out low gi foods

before exercise you need carbs and after you need protein for the muscles

i think sweet ptoatoes might have tryptophan too

[ZippiBabes]

the thing to watch is if you suddenly increase your exercise and don't eat enough then blood sugar levels go haywire and you can end up in a spiral of up and down moods and temptation for quick sugar fixes like alcohol

i have done that this week forgetting to eat as the exercise brought up my mood

so regular meals are key

i find that you can just about manage to have a semblance of control..no actually quite good control..up to a point but it is very much a case of avoiding stress as much as possible too and with depression doing everything in your power to overcome it

not saying pull yourself together obviously but I do find that absolutely forcing myself to do things when i have no motivation what so ever and would rather swallow a load of pills and not wake up is the best thing...physically it is very hard but i reckon I owe it to me to make that super human effort ...no one else will do it for me

Hope you are ok today

x

[Vacua]

Try to think of diet as one of many things you can do though, obviously sunshine is good, contact with supportive friends, anything that lifts your mood even by a tiny, barely perceptible degree.

Other things that people find helpful: Get into a good sleep routine if you're not already, bed at same time each day and get up at same time each day (or within an hour either way). Plan and structure your time, even for weekends, loosely (I don't mean every second of every day but just a basic structure) so you have things to focus on. Keep a mood diary so you can chart your progress, just a couple of minutes each day to check in with yourself.

[annieatno4]

Hiya
I started to suffer from depression around 18months ago.
I can also recommend bananas and turkey. Also omega 3 oils.
Drink plenty of water and some nuts are meant to help as well.

hope that helps

[Judy1234]

Look at www.radiantrecovery.com and also www.promis.co.uk/content/eating/eatguide.php

There is definitely a link between food and mood and all those sources tend to say avoid white flour, sugar, each regular meals, don't cut out any main food groups, have regular healthy meals.

[Judy1234]

Look at www.radiantrecovery.com and also www.promis.co.uk/content/eating/eatguide.php

There is definitely a link between food and mood and all those sources tend to say avoid white flour, sugar, each regular meals, don't cut out any main food groups, have regular healthy meals.

Also I don't think you can have occasional sugar or occasional alcohol as all you do then is spike your body to want more. It's like alcoholics cannot really have occasional drinks.

[ZippiBabes]

i just wish i was better at following my own prescription lol

i feel lousy today

[losingitagain]

Thank you all for the advice. Will make a big effort with this. Am off to look at the links now.

I had a banana today. And I feel worse than I have done for a long time. This is very frustrating