Antidepressant foods: what they are and why they work

Antidepressant foods can help lift your mood and keep it stable over time. Let's find out which are the most powerful and easy to find.

That good nutrition is the basis of our well-being is now more than known to all. Through the right choice of foods it is in fact possible to feel full and active, prevent even serious illnesses, sleep well and even stay in a good mood.
In fact, there are several well-known foods which, among their many properties , also have the ability to lift the mood and counteract anxiety and depression. This depends on their intrinsic properties and the effect (on a chemical level) they have once ingested. A real help from nature that can be useful both when you feel a little down and, more generally, when you want to prevent depression, anxiety or bad mood. So let's find out which foods can actually help us in our daily lives. And which, in addition to doing us good, are even able to give us a good mood.

What are antidepressant foods

Let's start immediately by saying that there are no foods that can fight depression as a disease. This must always be followed by a professional, who is able to understand its origins and the most suitable treatments. However, a study conducted in 2017 found that people suffering from depression and obviously followed by doctors showed a more evident improvement in symptoms thanks to a change in diet.

Having said that, there is no doubt that moments in which one feels depressed happen to everyone. And, in these cases, helping yourself with good nutrition, possibly based on the right foods, can go a long way and help you find a good mood more quickly.

But let's go more specifically and try to understand what antidepressant foods are.
The list is really long. And this is because so many foods, if eaten in the right quantity, are able to promote the right release of serotonin.
Typically, those considered more "powerful" are those rich in Omega-3 or with a good dose of B vitamins .

Going to the actual foods which, among other things, are among the foods useful for preventing anxiety and depression, the best known are:

• Oatmeal
• Black cabbage
• Spinach
• Beans
• Fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines
• Nuts
• Pumpkin seeds
• Flax seed
• Black rice
• Broccoli
• Dark chocolate
• Bitter cocoa
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries

Obviously, these foods must be included in a balanced diet that can vary over time. All this always remembering that they cannot in any way replace drugs but that they must be understood as external aids and able to improve the situation in general.

What are the foods to avoid when suffering from depression

Just as there are antidepressant foods, there are others that, however, should be avoided altogether as they are harmful. These include alcohol, saturated or hydrogenated fats, processed foods, and refined sugars. And the sugars? If it is true that they help mood to a small extent, it is also true that eating them in large quantities ends up having the opposite effect. And all because they are capable of inflaming the body .

In summary, therefore, if we talk about antidepressant foods, we must feed mostly with whole grains, fruit, vegetables, fish rich in Omega 3 and dark chocolate . All of this must obviously be consumed in the right quantities and within a varied and balanced diet as much as possible. Even a good protein intake has in fact been considered more than ever suitable for the production of tryptophan (precursor of serotonin). Another little help to improve your mood by eating well.

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