Does your therapist ask you about your diet? He/she should. We use various forms of psychological treatments to help people get through depression or hard times but we also need to treat the brain like it’s another organ.
That organ needs proper nutrition in order to function. True, some depression are genetic and need medicine and some can be treated without, but these medicines have side effects and healthy food has no negative side effects. At the very least, we owe it to ourselves to work on both therapy and nutrition.
Research shows that eating a healthy, Mediterranean diet, can prevent depression while eating processed, refined foods can increase the risk of depression for everyone including teens and children. A bad diet fails to provide the brain with the nutrients it needs causing inflammation which is linked to depression. Diet also affects the trillions of micro-organisms in our gut (microbiome). They make molecules that produce serotonin, which is our happy hormone. This a complex system of communication between our gut and our brain. A healthy diet feeds the brain, regulates inflammation, and provides good gut bacteria.
Hence, at Happy Food, we devote a lot of time talking about food, gut health, nutrition, and the brain. There’s a complex network between brain, bacteria, cells, organs, hormones, neurochemistry, etc. that we will never fully grasps. The best we can do is feed ourselves the right food, and allow the body to heal/thrive as it knows best given healthy food. Our body is amazing. Don’t take it for granted.
If you need help understanding nutrition and all the mixed messages out there, give us a call. We will address your stress level, eating habits, exercise, cravings, emotional eating, and overall health and happiness. Start with a free health consultation at www.HappyFoodHealth.com or (619) 876-2655. See if this is the right match for you. I do things very differently to make health a natural lifestyle and this is not for everyone. Check out Yelp for other people’s opinion of Happy Food.
~ Samantha Hua, Nutrition & Holistic Health Coach, San Diego, CA
