Diet and Depression

I read an amazing book a number of years ago by Laura Frazier called “Losing it.”  She tried all the well-known diet plans like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, and then concluded the best advice she could give to anyone hoping to lose weight and feel better about themselves is:  “Eat your vegetables and go outside and play.” Simple, but oh so true!

Now a research study in Spain has found the same. In a study of over 10,000 healthy adults over four and a half years, they found that those that adhere to the Mediterranean diet had a 30% reduction in depression.

This diet is high in olive oil, beans, vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts and cereals, and low in red meat, alcohol, and dairy.

Even more interesting is the fact that a diet high in olive oil enhances the amount of serotonin or brain transmitter available to the brain.  Most anti-depression drugs do the same thing!

Tagged as: depression and what you eat, diet and depression, diet and serotonin levels, eat your vegetables, serotonin levels and diet, Spanish study of Mediterranean diet