 Depression and anxiety are now being spoken about readily in mainstream society. This means that there are also a plethora of resources that discuss how to deal with it when times are bad. These can range from that grounded in science all the way to the personal testimony taken as fact. So, what actually works? One of the more grounded theories is based on diet. Not going on a diet, but what kind of foods you eat. Dietary changes aren't a cure, but they can help with the symptoms of depression. The dietary recommendations have also varied across studies, but there were some similar suggestions that ran through most of them. Let's take a look at those, because eating smarter is never a bad thing. 1. Healthy Fats That's right, fats can be healthy. These fats often have fancier names like omega something, or mono unsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Where do you find them? Well, looking at the fins, they have a diet high in fish, chicken, and cheese that's low in the bad fat group. They found this diet helped protect or prevent middle-aged, Finnish men from depressive symptoms. Is it magic? No, it's inflammation reduction. At least partially. See, depression is associated with inflammatory activation of the immune system, and that wreaks havoc on the nervous system. What follows then are all the icky symptoms like fatigue or chronic discomfort. Hey, antidepressants have been shown to decrease inflammation too, so maybe we're on to something. Other places you can munch on these good fats are by eating fish that have their omega-3 game on point like salmon, tuna, and mackerel. Is it just us or do you feel like some sushi too? If you're more on the vegan side of things, avocados and nuts like walnuts and pecans work too. 2. Plenty of Fruits and Vegetables So, speaking of them avocados, fruits and vegetables generally do help reduce inflammation in addition to providing vitamins. As if that weren't already pretty sweet, fruits and veggies also have another secret weapon, antioxidants. Hey, that's a real term and a real thing, keep watching, we'll explain. Depression and anxiety cause oodles of stress. That stress, like any evil entity, has henchmen. One of them is called oxidative stress. oxidative stress will mess you up. Its activities hinder your body's ability to detox and repair itself and can actually change your brain structure. It's also been linked to other baddies like Alzheimer's, ALS, and multiple sclerosis. So here's where the fruit and veggie superheroes come in. That antioxidant weapon neutralizes the henchmen's activities. The henchmen causes an imbalance and the antioxidants restore the balance. Evil plan foiled. You can gear up on this with berries, leafy greens, beets, and bonus? Dark chocolate. Yep, we said chocolate. Number three. To be well, have some B12 and B9. Yes, we meant vitamin B9, as in folic acid, not benign. Although, if you like the pun, we'll take it. Seriously though, folic acid and B12 are both necessary for the production of serotonin. Serotonin, a mood stabilizer, is one of the five happy hormones, so you definitely want that production going smoothly. Serotonin is produced in the gut. So when you're feeding yourself folic acid and B12 rich foods, they're feeding it too. So have some poached eggs, cheese, maybe a banana, and be happy. Number four. Love the grain as a whole. Did you know that a grain has layers? You've got the outside bit called the hull, then a fibery bit called the bran. After that, the starches and the innermost bit called the germ. Now, we get rid of the hull because that's not really edible. And from the bran to the germ, that is whole grain goodness. Much of the shiny, bright foods we can get in the stores like white bread only contain starches and germ. Hey, they got rid of the bran layer. That bran layer's got goods, like B vitamins and minerals. Well, the inclusion of the grain as a whole is a big part of diets like the Mediterranean and alternative healthy eating index diet and has been shown to reduce the risk of depressive symptoms. The Mediterranean diet includes some of the previously mentioned helpful foods and consists of whole grains, vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, seeds and spices. Number five. Consider taking amino acids. Amino acids might sound all sciency, but not to worry. They're simple. So simple. In fact, they're building blocks. They're the building blocks that make proteins. We need them, yet our bodies don't produce them. So we have to eat them. One of those we need it, but don't make it amino acids is tryptophan. Tryptophan is essential to make serotonin, so you may need enough of this. You've heard about how tryptophan is in all sorts of food, from chicken to turkey to tofu, so eat up. Foods like quinoa, eggs and red meat contain all the amino acids. So take care of your gut and dig in. And number six. Go low sugar. Cutting back on sugar has become a popular trend nowadays, and for good reason. Taking in an overabundance of sugar not only limits collagen production, but can also impact your mental health. Unlike the helpers mentioned before, sugar increases inflammation, making depressive symptoms worse. Sugar is hard to avoid, though, because it's sort of, well, everywhere. The good news is that it's not really sugar that you have to watch out for. It's the glycemic index you want to keep low. The glycemic index is a measure of how quickly a food makes blood sugar rise. The GI can even change depending on how a food is prepared, like a baked potato having a higher GI than a boiled one. A quick check on a food's glycemic index will help you on your journey of healthy eating. You are what you eat. We know this, and yet often forget that our bodies are not solo instruments, but a whole chorus, opera, and orchestra working together. It only makes sense that what we digest will have a domino effect on everything else. Have you heard of any of these tips before? Did we give you maybe some healthier alternative snacking ideas? Please remember that before implementing any drastic changes, have a chat with your doctor. We hope you enjoyed the video. Feel free to like and share, and see you next time.