Whole foods for depression?

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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More whole grains, vegetables, olive oil and fish - can depression be dispelled with a change in diet?

Depression is extremely stressful: it paralyzes people, robs them of hope and joy - sometimes even the will to live. And although scientists have been trying to get to the bottom of the cause for decades, we still don't know exactly why some people's moods darken.

This is another reason why the treatment options for depression are currently still limited: Psychotherapy and antidepressants - these are the main treatment options. But not every patient can be helped in this way: Experts put the proportion of depressed people at 30 to 45 percent in whom such treatment fails.

Diet change as a therapeutic measure?

It seems all the more astonishing that a seemingly simple measure should be able to drive away depression: a change in diet.

“In fact, we have seen for years that people around the world are getting fatter because they eat too much and, above all, wrongly. At the same time, mental disorders are increasing in every age group, ”explains Felicia Jacka from the University of Melbourne. Pure random? The psychiatrist couldn't believe that.

Does Fast Food Promote Depression?

She published a study on this as early as 2013. In it she showed that initially mentally stable people who ate a lot of white flour, saturated fats, sugar or even fast food had a third higher risk of later developing depression or anxiety disorder.

"The human body was not prepared for such a diet by evolution," says the researcher. In contrast, a diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grain products, nuts, unsaturated fats, lean meat and fish has a positive effect on the mind. Studies from Japan, Spain and Norway provided similar results to the Australian study. It seems that a wholesome diet can actually prevent mental illness.

Banish depression

But can the right things on the plate also help if a mental illness has already broken out? This is exactly what Jacka and colleagues have shown in a study with 67 depression patients. Some of them were taking antidepressants or undergoing psychotherapy. The rest had not yet been dealt with. But apart from their emotional distress, the participants had one thing in common: they all had a rather unhealthy diet.

Whole grains, vegetables, fish & Co.

For half of them that changed from then on: They received nutritional advice and a nutrition plan for a total of four days, which set out the following rules:

Five to eight servings of whole grain foods a day, plus six servings of vegetables, three servings of fruit and two to three servings of low-fat unsweetened dairy products, one serving of nuts and three tablespoons of olive oil.

In addition, three to four servings of legumes, at least two fish, three to four servings of lean red meat, two to four servings of chicken and up to six eggs per week.

Sweets, white flour products, fried foods, sausage products, fast food and sugary drinks were not taboo, but they were allowed to be consumed a maximum of three times a week.

The other half of the participants were not motivated to change their unhealthy eating habits. Instead, she received a social therapeutic offer with discussions on the topics of her choice.

Twelve weeks later, the effect of the whole food cure was evident: one in three subjects in the nutrition group was free from depressive symptoms, with the others it was only one in eight. "The more strictly the patients adhered to the meal plan, the greater the success," reports Jacka.

Micronutrients for the brain

There are several explanations for how food might affect the state of mind. For example, the smooth running of brain functions is important for good mental health. Numerous micronutrients are necessary for this. These are needed, for example, by the mitochondria, the tiny energy power plants of the cells. They have to function particularly effectively in the energy-hungry brain. If there are not enough micronutrients available from food, the processes in the thinking organ also suffer.

The western nutritional un-culture also directly promotes harmful processes in the body, which have an unfavorable effect on the brain functions. For example, inflammatory processes that go unnoticed or the increased formation of free radicals. These are aggressive oxygen molecules that can damage cells anywhere in the body.

Help with the transition

One thing is certain: people who eat healthily can also develop depression. And the study also shows that diet change may not help every patient. But it is definitely worth a try - as a complementary measure to psychotherapy and antidepressants.

However, there is a catch: “People with depression don't have the drive. A change like a change in diet is particularly difficult for them, ”says Jacka. That is why the participants in the study were provided with nutrition tips and recipes as well as the wholesome basic foods they needed. Outside of such an environment, patients may need support - from family and friends.

Tags:  anatomy diet drugs