How Diet Can Affect Your Depression
Depression can be affected by many issues. The weather, death in the family, or work related stress can all be risk factors for your depression. Another aspect you may not be considering is your diet. In fact, there have been studies that show that diet can directly related to depression in many ways. Here are a few of those ways and what you can do to avoid them in the future.
Food Coloring
You may not think about food coloring as an issue, but it can cause major issues with your body. There have been many studies showing that certain food dyes and colorings, even natural ones, can cause ongoing depression related symptoms. The artificial and natural food colorings can cause fatigue, slowed circulation, or emotional issues. In fact, there are some research studies that point to food coloring as a contributing factor in sensory processing disorders and other related emotional issues in adults and children. If you eat a lot of snack food or processed foods, you are ingesting food coloring and it can relate to your depression. Avoid processed foods and try clean eating diets as an alternative.
High Sugar Levels
When you ingest foods that contain a high sugar content, you are running the risk of several depression related issues. This is primarily due to how sugar works in your body. The immediate issue is when the sugar works through your system. It can give you a boost of energy, but when it fades from your system you are left feeling sluggish and tired. Long term effects can lead to obesity or a dependency on the sugar content and the crash that follows. The crash from the sugar will lead to depression due to the fatigue it may cause. If you need something sweet to combat a craving, consider going with a natural fruit instead.
Reduced Vitamins and Minerals
The leading factor that connects your diet and your depression is the reduced amount of vitamins and minerals in your system. If you have a poor diet then you are likely eating foods that have a high amount of dyes or carbs. They are filling, but they may not contain the vitamins and minerals your body needs to keep functioning. If you have a lack of vitamins and minerals on an ongoing basis, then you will notice that your body is not functioning properly and will lead to health issues which include depression. You can avoid this by having a juice, smoothie, or vitamin enriched meal each day.
Though you may not want to, or feel the need to, change your entire diet all the time there are some small changes presented here that can help you reduce your depression. Give each one a try, or try them all, to see which ones or combination of diet changes work for you.
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