Foods to Beat Depression/Fatigue

It’s been one week since i’ve changed my diet and I feel great. I have to admit I was skeptical at first when I bought the book Super Foods to Boost Your mood, Foods that Fight Depression for a measley $5.00AU but figured if there were foods out there that could change my mood then i’d give it a shot.

The first thing i’ve noticed is that I feel more relaxed. Usually at night when I go to bed I feel tense and have rocking movements of the trunk of the body caused by the medications I am on. These have been reduced by half to three quarters.

I wanted to change the foods that I eat because I was feeling tired and lethargic all the time, especially around 2pm after my lunch break at work. The fatigue would last for an hour and I would become depressed and not want to work. It was really starting to bother me as it was starting to become a pattern and I was desperate to get rid of the feeling. I am happy to report that my fatigue has been reduced by half since i’ve changed my eating patterns. Mornings were always hard for me too. I’d feel tired and lethargic and very grumpy. Now I just eat a few nuts and I get a great energy burst.

Here’s some of the tips from the book to help you out:

• Banana – stress busting qualities;
• Kiwi – boost of vitamin C – good for fighting fatigue (I take a vitamin C tablet 250mg two in the morning and two at lunch time);
• Mandarin – good for fighting irritability;
• Melon – contains stress busting magnesium;
• Parsley – contains potent and nutrimental goodness which helps combat depression and stress;
• Broccoli contains more vitamin C than an orange which boosts the immune system and helps with chronic fatigue. It has as much calcium as a glass of milk, which can help relieve mood swings;
• The best nuts for depression are Brazils, Peanuts, Hazel Nuts, Cashew Nuts;
• The best nuts for stress are Almonds, Pecans and Brazil Nuts;
• The best nuts for chronic fatigue are Brazil Nuts, Pecans and Walnuts;
• All berries contribute to our overall sense of wellbeing and help us to feel physically and emotionally better;
• Blueberries – their age defying antioxidants have been linked with boosts in memory. The anti ageing function is so effective for depression;
• The omega 3 in oily fish helps beat depression. Try salmon, herring, mackerel, trout, tuna and sardines. Also try almonds, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin seeds and advocados;
• A salad and pasta meal is really good for promoting sleep as pasta is high in carbs which increase serotonin and will give you a mild sleepy feeling. Bananas will boost your melatonin, the hormone that aids sleep;
• Trytophan – foods rich in this amino acid help boost the body’s uptake of serotonin. High trytophan foods are soy products, seafood, turkey, whole grains, beans, rice houmous, lentils, hazelnuts, peanuts, eggs, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds.
• Switch from white to brown products and you could immediately elevate your energy levels and boost your mood. Try brown rice, wholegrain bread and wholemeal/wholegrain pasta;
• Decrease your intake of dairy fats to start feeling less fatigued and depressed.  Try pecorino remano cheese (made from sheep’s milk), goats cheese, almond cream, fruit sorbets instead of icecream and rice and soya milk;

My food intake per day consists of porridge in the morning, walnuts, hazel nuts, craisins, pepitas and blueberries in the mid morning for a snack, houmous and crudites and a whole wheat sandwich with tuna for lunch followed by kiwi fruit, apple and strawberries and more nuts for an afternoon snack. I have eliminated chocolate and junk food from my diet and feel so much better for it.

If you are interested in the book it’s called Super Foods to Boost Your Mood Foods that Fight Depression by Alexandra Massey. If you Google it you will find plenty of places that sell it.