5 Ways To Improve Depression With Nutrition

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash

When I first started my fitness journey, I was an overweight and depressed kid. My regular meal was a Big Mac with a Milkshake from McDonald's.

I can remember on several occasions how I used food for emotional comfort.

As the exercise was introduced into my life, I decided to make better choices in food. In doing so, I recognized one thing very quickly: how important nutrition was for mental health.

The nutrient quality of food plays a huge part in both our brain and body. In fact, a plethora of research has shown that dietary patterns can contribute to depression.

One study in particular assigned 67 depressed adults to either 7 individual consulting sessions with a dietician or 7 social support group sessions for over 12 weeks. The individual consulting sessions helped the depressed individuals make adjustments to their diet and limit junk food.

At the end of the study, 8% of the social support group saw remission in their depression, 1/3rd of the dietician consulting group experienced remission.

This is why nutrition can potentially be a powerful thing to utilize in our journey towards better mood and wellbeing.