Does diet affect depression?

[mandy6]

I was wondering if diet had an effect on depression. I know I could look this up on google but frankly i'm not bothered to read a long article.

So for about a month I didn't eat any fruit (except for bananas but they don't really count) because there was no fruit in the house and I wasn't bothered to run to the shops and do some exercise (I'm lazy alright). For this month I felt more depressed than usual and just didn't know why. however for the past week or so with the start of mandarin season I have been eating lots of fruit and I my depression has seemed to ease off a bit. I was wondering if there was any correlation between the two or if it was just a coincidence. also has anyone else seen any similar mood change with diet change?

[Struggler]

Hi Mandy

I see you've been eating mandarins.  I love mandarins but it's hard to find good ones.  I know how 

to pick good juicy mandarins.

As to connection between diet and depression, I really don't know.  I heard some herbs help with depression but I am not convinced.  I am more of the belief that depression is caused by traumatic events in our lives.  This is certainly my case.  The way to treat depression is to remove the source together with the right medication.  

Having said that, I'll go and buy some mandarins tomorrow.

Cheers,

Struggler

[geoff]

dear Mandy, I have checked out the net and this is only a quick guide '

• Sources of beta-carotene: apricots, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, collards, peaches, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato 
• Sources of vitamin C: blueberries, broccoli, grapefruit, kiwi, oranges, peppers, potatoes, strawberries, tomato 
• Sources of vitamin E: margarine, nuts and seeds, vegetable oils, wheat germ', which maybe of some benefit, although nothing has been proven to be concrete at the moment, but try these. L Geoff. x
  

[vip]

Hi Mandy I find that diet makes absolutely no difference with my depression. Only big thing with mine is the alcohol which I avoid totally . I have been a bad eater since a kid who also struggled with eating disorders beingn really thin my mum used to try and get me to eat anything icecream lollies all the sweets to beef me up a bit. I try really hard now to eat fruit and veges and guess what my son is exactly the same way that I was so I see the struggle my mum had with me so im trying not to make the same mistakes with him . I keep my fluids up so drink lots of water and I drink coffee but not too much as I also have a sleep problem and try hard everyday to have a least 1 piece of fruit and 1 vege even though not really enjoying them much . My son well im doing the same with him. He doesn't eat fruit and healthy at school but at home I make sure he does . He needs fresh fruit with no marks on it ect ect because at school he tells me no that fruit has gone old. My son has borderline autism so he likes his food ect in a certain way . If you find your diet makes a difference fantastic just keep doing what your doing

[Neil_1]

Hi Mandy

Great post that you’ve created – and everyone has their own opinion on things like this.

My belief is that what you eat ‘can affect’ you to a degree. Simply, if you’re eating an unhealthy diet – you know, junk food, chips, chocolates, ice-cream, take-aways, etc all that kind of stuff – it’s not providing the body with proper nutrients.
As a result of this, it’ll make the person feel, no other real word for it, than “blahh”.

Those kinds of foods won’t provide you with sustained fuel or energy to help you through a reasonable day. They’ll give you little spikes of energy, but it’ll be more like a rollercoaster of a feeling. And on top of this, those foods tend to be high in calories and carbohydrates and as a consequence if you’re not being active to burn off those unwanted items, then the body will store them – most commonly referred to as fat.

And here lies an element that I believe as mentioned above, while it may not cause depression, one’s body shape unfortunately can have big effects on our mental state. I know it shouldn’t but, it does.

I won’t go much more into this, cause you did say that you didn’t want something long to read and let’s face it, you could have googled something and probably got a shorter response than the one I’m providing you with anyway.

As I’ve always been into sports activities and being active, I’ve always for the most part eaten pretty healthy – and as I begin to age, I continue to do so. I just think that why not make our body be as healthy etc as we can, even if our minds aren’t. So you really can control how you fuel your body – but it’s nigh on impossible to have major influence over how our minds torment us.

Thanx again for this thread – and maybe you could get Beyond Blue to call it something like: diet and depression? Just a thought.

Neil