Can depression be prevented with diet?Nutritionist recommends “3 major nutrients” to stabilize emotions and not be afraid of getting fat
Demonstration / Text / Nutritionist Lin Shihang
From time to time, there will be news about artists committing suicide due to depression. From Ni Minran and Leslie Cheung in the early years to Coco Lee recently, depression is actually very easy to appear in you, me or the relatives and friends around you. In recent years, the pressure of modern society, coupled with factors such as the epidemic, has made depression more and more serious. What is depression, its causes, symptoms, and what can be done to start?
What is depression?
Is bad mood depression?
I’m in a bad mood, is it depression? In fact, no, there are positive and negative fluctuations in mood, and when the fluctuation is too abnormal, such as being low for a long time, it may be depression, and clinical depression needs to be diagnosed by a doctor.
Is depression a mental or physical illness?
Depression is a manifestation of the psychological and spiritual aspects, but the mutual influence of physiology and psychology is a definite fact. The study found that the brains of people with depression have less neurological complexity and lower concentrations of neurotransmitters than normal people, suggesting that something is really going on in the brains of people with depression.
Causes and pathology of depression?
At present, the causes of depression are still hypotheses, because the state of the brain cannot be directly connected with behavior and emotion, and the relationship is intricate and mutual, but overall it can be classified into psychosocial and physiological and biochemical levels.
psychosocial level
The occurrence of depression is closely related to the patient’s early mental development, social experience, personality, and family growth environment. Some studies have also pointed out that the risk of severe depression and anxiety in children will increase by as much as five times in adulthood (Linking), women who suffer from domestic violence have a significantly increased chance of suffering from severe depression (Linking), and are also related to the physiological and biochemical level.
Physiological and biochemical level
genetic inheritance
Studies have shown that families with a history of depression have a higher risk of developing depression in their offspring. In addition to the behavior shown by depressed patients affecting offspring, the gene variation of neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the brain also makes people with this gene People with different brain development will be different from normal people, so they are prone to depression.
Excessive stress hormones cause
In order to maintain balance, the human body has a negative feedback mechanism. Taking the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) as an example of the stress control system, the corticosterone secreted by the adrenal cortex can return to the The brain suppresses the hypothalamus, which in turn controls the overall release of stress hormones.
However, under long-term tension and stress, the high concentration of stress hormones can actually damage the nerves of the hypothalamus, making the control system abnormal, and the already hypertensive stress hormones continue to be secreted, which also continues to damage nerve cells, resulting in Decreased neuroplasticity.
Low concentration of neurotransmitters
Studies have also found that the concentration of monoamine neurotransmitters (monoamines) in the brain of patients with depression is low. At the same time, some literature has pointed out that patients with depression may have a reduced ability to secrete and manufacture monoamine neurotransmitters, or they may metabolize too quickly caused by.
The above-mentioned psychosocial and physiological influence each other. It is possible that stress hormones also damage the monoamine nerve cells, which in turn leads to the loss of regulation of nerve complexity and conduction.
chronic inflammation of the brain
Being chronically sick and weary of the world is scientifically established! Chronic diseases are usually accompanied by chronic inflammation, and these inflammatory factors can also trigger an inflammatory response in the brain, causing brain cell apoptosis, and then causing cognitive and emotional changes.
Depression feelings and symptoms?
According to the criteria of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic Manual of the American Academy of Clinical Medicine (DSM-5), the symptoms used to diagnose depression fall into the following two categories:
The main symptoms
1. Depressed mood almost every day, all day long
2. Decreased inner driving force, loss of joy in things of interest and motivation for activities
accompanying symptoms
Sleep disturbance (insomnia or hypersomnia), loss of energy or unexplained tiredness, decreased speech, sluggishness, sluggishness or freezing, decreased self-confidence and self-esteem, negative thoughts, guilt, loss of self-worth, decreased ability to think, suicidal and thoughts of death etc.
Remarks: The diagnosis is still determined by a doctor. When you feel sick, you must seek professional assistance
How to prevent depression with diet?
Due to the problems of loss of work ability and greater social burden caused by depression, WHO predicts that depression will become the first high-burden disease in the world by 2030, and depression does have physiological changes, although the somatosensory is very subtle. But it can indeed help stabilize mood through dietary content and reduce the risk of depression.
Eat enough dietary fiber, let the gut bacteria communicate with the brain!
Dietary fiber is food for intestinal bacteria, which can regulate the bacterial ecology of the digestive tract. These bacteria in the digestive tract secrete many hormones and affect the brain through the “brain-gut axis”, acting as a bridge between the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore The quality of intestinal flora will affect the emotional function of the brain (Linking）。
A Japanese study investigated the relationship between dietary fiber intake and depression. It was found that the group with the highest intake of dietary fiber had a 35% lower odds of depression than those with the lowest intake, indicating that adequate intake of dietary fiber May reduce risk of depression (Linking）。
More than 90% of Taiwanese have insufficient dietary fiber intake, with an average of only 15 grams, which is far below the recommended amount of 25-35 grams. Therefore, it is recommended that Chinese people consume enough dietary fiber to help us prevent depression.
Replenish antioxidants to combat depression and inflammation!
The occurrence of depression may be caused by factors such as increased oxidative stress in the body, brain nerve damage, and chronic inflammation. Under normal circumstances, our human body has an anti-oxidation protection mechanism to remove free radicals generated during metabolism.
However, long-term life stress and poor diet may increase the oxidative stress in the body, cause chronic inflammation and damage nerve cells, and increase the risk of depression (Linking）。
Vegetables and fruits are rich in antioxidants, which can help us resist oxidative stress and have a protective effect. Studies have shown that for every 100 grams of vegetable and fruit intake, the risk of depression can be reduced by about 5% (Linking）。
In addition, a large European study provided advice on a Mediterranean diet for diabetic patients, which included a large intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, 30 grams of nuts and seeds per day, and olive oil as the main cooking oil, and found that the risk of depression significantly reduced by 41% (Linking）。
Therefore, don’t forget to take a balanced intake of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet, so as to help your body have a normal antioxidant system!
Consume foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids have long been used as brain food, which can prevent brain neurodegeneration and memory loss. Since depression is related to chronic inflammation and neurotransmitter system disorders, omega-3 fatty acids can fight inflammation and regulate the metabolism of neurotransmitters, thus helping to prevent the occurrence of depression.
Published in 2017 on<營養神經學>The literature in the journal mentioned that it is recommended to consume 150 grams of fish per week, and you can choose fish species rich in omega-3 fatty acids (Linking), such as: salmon, mackerel and saury, can improve depression and prevent depression.
Depression is often lurking around you and me, and it is even a little devil in your own body. In addition to relying on diet to help reduce the risk of suffering from it, it is more important to have a sense of illness and seek help from doctors and psychological counselors in due course to calm your mood. Get well soon from a cold!
Text/Nutritionist Lin Shihang
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2023-07-13 07:59:00
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