How to Cure Depression With Diet

Eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream may lighten your mood, but can altering your diet cure clinical depression? Nutritional deficiencies, lack of omega oils and excess intake of carbohydrates are all dietary characteristics of those who suffer from depression. A change in diet may not clinically cure depression, but it may alleviate the symptoms associated with the condition.

Things You'll Need

• Fresh or frozen fish Fish oil supplement Fresh fruit and vegetables Water Multivitamin

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Instructions

How to Cure Depression with Diet

• 1

  Control the amount of bread and grains in your diet. Those who suffer from depression have low levels of serotonin, the hormone associated with mood. Carbohydrates raise the levels of serotonin in your brain; that's why you crave carbohydrates when you suffer from depression. But the excess is converted to fat, resulting in sluggishness and unhealthy weight gain. Eat no more than 200 grams of whole grain breads per day.

• 2

  Include fish in your diet. Three times a week, eat fish that is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 oils, such as salmon or tuna. A lack of omega oils within the brain results in slowed cognitive processes and lower production of serotonin. Omega-3 and omega-6 oils actively raise the levels of serotonin in your brain and increase cognitive functioning. An active mind is more likely to sustain normal levels of serotonin.
  Do not eat canned salmon or tuna. Eat fresh or fresh frozen fish. Include a fish oil supplement in your diet.

• 3

  Snack on fresh fruit and vegetables and include them in your meals. Fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of magnesium, B12, vitamin C and other nutrients associated with maintaining healthy serotonin levels. Nutritional deficiencies are not uncommon in people suffering from depression. Eating fruits and vegetables will help to correct these deficiencies.
  Avoid snacking on salty or sugary foods. These lower your serotonin levels while raising your glucose levels, leading to feelings of frustration and fatigue.

• 4

  Drink six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. The reasoning for this is simple. Water flushes out the body, resulting in detoxification. When you rid the body of environmental poisons, such as pollutant particulates, it is better able to keep its systems in balance.

• 5

  Supplement your diet with a multivitamin. Including doses of vitamins and minerals in your diet helps your body build a reserve. You may already have some nutritional deficiencies; a multivitamin can aid in correcting this. As you progress toward health, the multivitamin will provide your body with additional sources for healing.

• 6

  Take a walk every day after dinner. This may not seem like a dietary measure, but walking aids digestion. When the body properly digests food, the nutritional value of the food is directed toward body functions, such as healing.

• 7

  Limit the amount of caffeine in your diet and avoid alcohol. Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, soda and chocolate. Though there is no direct link between caffeine intake and depression, excess caffeine may result in feelings of anxiety, exacerbating the physiological effects of depression.

• 8

  Avoid alcohol. Alcohol, a depressant, lowers serotonin levels. Though you may feel good after one drink, that feeling will soon turn downward as your serotonin levels drop. Also, mixing alcohol and antidepressant prescription medication can be lethal.