According to a 2023 national survey, 29% of adults in the United States have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives and 17.8% are currently being treated for depression. Women are reported to have the highest risk for depression, with 36.7% being diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives and 23.8% being treated for depression at the time of the survey (Witters, 2024). Depression, also called major depressive disorder, is a common mental disorder which negatively impacts your mental and physical health. Depression can make you feel irritable, lose interest in things you usually enjoy, change your eating habits, have trouble sleeping, feel very tired, think you are not good enough, feel overly guilty, and sometimes even have thoughts about death or suicide. (American Psychiatric Association, 2024). Many people can experience the negative emotions listed above without being diagnosed with depression. However, depression is chronic condition where these negative feelings are present for most of the day, for several days of the week, lasting more than two weeks, and impacts your work, school, and/or social life (American Psychiatric Association, 2024).
The most common treatments of depression include psychotherapy, medication, and brain stimulation therapy. Alternative treatments involving the use of natural products, physical activity, and diet are also widely researched to help improve depression symptoms (Nahas & Sheikh, 2011).
Improving diet quality is an effective preventive measure and treatment for depression. Research indicates that as diet quality improves, depression risk and symptom severity decrease (Kris-Etherton et al., 2020). Diet quality can be thought of as how much whole foods (e.g. fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, lean meats, etc.) you are eating compared to what is recommended to promote and sustain health. In the United States, you can achieve a higher quality diet by following the dietary guidelines for Americans (dietaryguidelines.gov). The Mediterranean diet is an example of a higher quality dietary pattern that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish/seafood. It has been shown to reduce depression, even among individuals who have been clinically diagnosed. Another example of a high-quality diet, known to help with depressive symptoms, is the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. The DASH diet encourages eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while also limiting salt, added sugar, and saturated fat. (Kris-Etherton et al., 2020). To improve your diet to help with depression, try to increase the intake of these food groups:
- Whole grains.
- Vegetables.
- Fruits.
- Legumes.
- Low fat and unsweetened dairy products.
- Raw and unsalted nuts and seeds.
- Fish.
- Lean meat and eggs.
- Olive oil.
Additionally, try to decrease or eliminate the intake of certain foods:
- Refined grains.
- Fried foods.
- Fast food.
- Highly processed meats.
- Sugar sweetened beverages.
Other than diet quality, many nutrients are important for the development and maintenance of adequate brain function. Research shows that people who do not get enough of certain nutrients have a higher risk for developing depression and depressive symptoms. These nutrients include folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D, zinc, and magnesium. Although current research shows that nutrient supplementation does not help with depression, both the Mediterranean diet and DASH diet are good sources of these nutrients (Kris-Etherton et al., 2020).
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2024, April). What is depression?. What Is Depression?
psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
Kris-Etherton, P. M., Petersen, K. S., Hibbeln, J. R., Hurley, D., Kolick, V., Peoples, S., Rodriguez, N., & Woodward-Lopez, G. (2020). Nutrition and behavioral health disorders: Depression and anxiety. Nutrition Reviews, 79(3), 247–260.
doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaa025
Nahas, R., & Sheikh, O. (2011). Complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 57(6), 659–663.
Witters, D. (2024, October 16). U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs. Gallup.com.
news.gallup.com/poll/505745/depression-rates-reach-new-highs.aspx