Nutrition - Treatment, and Prevention of Seasonal Depression

Despite all the technological breakthroughs and achievements of civilization, our body maintains a fairly close connection with ordinary natural phenomena. They affect both his physical and mental state. Faced with depression, we blame the picky boss, unbearable household members, unreasonable doctors, and even harmful worms for the deterioration of our well-being, and the cause of the disease may be a banal change of weather seasons. Of course, we cannot change the prevailing climatic conditions and the regular course of the seasons, but we have the opportunity, with the help of nutrition, to neutralize or significantly reduce their influence on our mood and general well-being.

The onset of autumn and spring for many of us turns out to be not just another change of the season, but a real test for the psycho-emotional sphere. The mood deteriorates noticeably, drowsiness grows, I don't want to get out of the cozy home shell anywhere, everything is seen exclusively in dark colors. This can also be explained by the rainy and chilly autumn weather, but for some people, this negative state is also observed on a sunny spring day.

Causes of seasonal depression

Autumn and spring seasonal depressions have different causes. The onset of an autumn loss of strength, as a rule, occurs in late autumn and increases as the daylight hours decrease. The lack of daylight is accompanied by the gradual development of an excess of the hormonal substance, melatonin. In humans, it is synthesized by the pineal gland cells. Moreover, under normal conditions, 70% of the hormone is formed at night, thereby making it easier to fall asleep and suppressing the excessive work of brain structures. With excessive production of melatonin during the day, people feel drowsiness, lethargy, deterioration of attention and cognitive activity.

Spring seasonal depression is associated with the depletion of reserves of minerals, amino acids, and vitamins that affect the activity of the components of the central nervous system. They are B vitamins, biotin, folic and ascorbic acids, selenium, iron, zinc, chromium, magnesium, tyrosine, L-phenylalanine.

Nutrition for autumn seasonal depression

Chocolate boosts your mood.

Thanks to the wise nature, many processes in our body are balanced. And melatonin has an antipode hormone that blocks its effects, called serotonin. This substance:

• is a chemical transmitter of signals between various nerve cells;
• provides our peace of mind by regulating the susceptibility of brain structures to stressful substances - adrenaline and norepinephrine;
• activates those parts of the brain that are responsible for concentration;
• maintains muscle tone and muscle activity.

Therefore, to combat autumn seasonal depression or to prevent it, you can enrich your diet with foods that are sources of serotonin. They are:

• nuts;
• dark chocolate (30 g / day of this delicacy is enough to eliminate blues);
• bananas;
• figs;
• honey;
• dates;
• eggplant;
• kiwi;
• pineapples;
• plums;
• tomatoes.

Along with them, you should eat foods high in tryptophan. After all, it is from this amino acid in the body that serotonin, which contributes to a good mood, is formed. In addition, tryptophan itself can improve disturbed sleep. They are rich in:

• turkey;
• red meat;
• eggs;
• fish ;
• hard cheese;
• Brazilian and walnuts, as well as almonds;
• sunflower seeds;
• tomatoes.

The synthesis of tryptophan, in turn, is facilitated by magnesium, zinc, ascorbic acid, and vitamins B. We will recall the food sources of these substances a little later.

Some of us struggle to cope with autumn melancholy by emptying our home sweets and drinking many cups of coffee. Unfortunately, these measures have a very short-term effect. The glucose contained in sweets, when it enters the brain, has a short-term stimulating effect, but then turns into excess weight. And the activation of the nervous system with the help of regular consumption of a large amount of strong coffee (more than 3-4 cups per day) ends with its depletion and, accordingly, even greater problems in the psychoemotional sphere. Fans of this aromatic drink are even advised to replace it (at least partially) with green tea, mate, or tea with ginger.

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Nutrition for Spring Seasonal Depression

Foods containing magnesium will help stabilize the nervous system.

To meet the most romantic time of the year with a wonderful mood, and not with black longing and deep sadness, you need to properly form your diet. Shown are foods with a sufficient amount of magnesium, which stabilizes the functions of the nervous system. It is contained in:

• whole grains (especially oats, millet, and buckwheat);
• kelp;
• wheat bran;
• almonds;
• dried apricots and other dried fruits.

Natural antidepressants include dietary sources of selenium ( wheat germ, cashews, celery root, asparagus, squash, squash) and zinc ( mushrooms, oysters, alfalfa sprouts, algae, brown rice, radishes, endive lettuce). To reduce zinc excretion, it is advisable to include in your diet foods high in chromium: corn, apples, legumes, lemon mint, tomatoes, crabs, beef, chicken, liver, eggs.

Seasonal hypovitaminosis is of great importance in the appearance of spring depression because many vitamins improve the production of serotonin and directly activate the functions of our brain. Such hypovitaminosis is most often complex (that is, due to a lack of several vitamins at once), it is manifested by excessive fatigue, tearfulness, unwillingness to wake up in the morning. Therefore, the fastest bituminization of the diet is necessary. They start eating foods with a lot of ascorbic acids:

• cabbage;
• berries (black currants, rose hips, strawberries, blueberries);
• new potatoes;
• paprika;
• citruses.

Moreover, it is desirable that heat treatment, leading to the destruction of useful vitamin C, was minimal.

To enrich the body with vitamin B1, the following are recommended:

• yeast ;
• bran;
• soy;
• Strawberry;
• oatmeal;
• brown rice;
• natural milk.

B6 is also found in yeast, bran, and grains, as well as crustaceans, mussels, and bell peppers. In order to supply your body with folic acid, it is advisable to add green beans, broccoli, eggs, soy flour, brown rice, and veal liver to the menu. In this case, it is necessary to avoid the use of raw eggs, since they contain a substance that binds the vitamin. When the mood is low, some nutritionists prescribe cheese. This tasty product promotes the intake of L-phenylalanine, an amino acid involved in the formation of endorphins, into our body. The latter are also called hormones of joy. In addition, depression can be associated with a lack of dopamine, synthesized from tyrosine. And tyrosine is found in:

• avocado;
• almonds;
• lima beans;
• homemade cheese;
• bananas;
• sesame;
• raw peanuts (no salt);
• pumpkin seeds.

In addition to coffee, flour, and sweets during this period, you need to beware of alcohol, cola, food additives, and products with dyes and preservatives. All of them are not only toxic but also inhibit the absorption of minerals, amino acids, and vitamins from the intestines.