Do you have a happy brain? Mine has had its ups and downs, but just hearing that the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) annual meeting last month included a workshop called “Prescription Brain Food” boosted my happiness. And in an apt play on words, speaker Drew Ramsey, MD, said, “It’s time to send your patients to the ‘Farm-acy.’”
Ramsey’s quip was in reference to relevant research. The first is a 2009 Spanish study published in Journal of the American Medical Association and titled “Association of the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern With the Incidence of Depression.” It puts data behind things we’ve heard for years; certain foods can lower the risk of depression. Vegetables, fruit and nuts, cereal, legumes and fish were all weighted positively in the study. The foods that didn’t get positive treatment were meat, meat products and whole-fat dairy.
Another study published the same year in the British Journal of Psychiatry and called “Dietary Pattern and Depressive Symptoms in Middle Age,” had similar findings. It compared a whole-food diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fish with a processed-food diet of processed meat, sugary food, refined grains and things which we put in a deep fryer. The conclusion? A diet high in processed foods is a risk factor for depression, while one that is heavy on whole foods is protective. Not even just “neutral” or “better;” no, it’s protective.
So, let’s talk diet modifications. Cutting stuff out is one thing. After a protracted battle with our willpower, we can usually make bad food go away. Usually. I think the challenge is adding things that are good for us if we don’t actually like them. Like fish that tastes like fish. There isn’t enough lemon or olive oil in the world to cover that up.
In case you have the same fishy problem as me, I’ve compiled a list of fish that taste like chicken (or are at least mild).
- Delicate texture: cod, flounder, trout
- Less delicate, but still won’t survive attempts at food sculpture: haddock, prange roughy, perch, snapper
- Firm: grouper, halibut, sole
Another problem area for me is legumes, mainly because I can never remember what the heck they are. (If asked, I would default to beans and then fall silent.) From Wikipedia, “well-known legumes include alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob,
soybeans, peanuts and the woody climbing vine wisteria.” Come again? No wonder I can’t remember them – it’s a total shit-mix! And how did a freaking wisteria get in that category? (I’m certainly not going to eat wisteria. The tangle of vines would get caught in my throat.)
On an interesting end note, when I think back to all the discussions I’ve had about depression with a variety of Western medicine practitioners over the past two decades, I can’t remember a single one of them ever querying my food intake. It was with my acupuncturist that I began my “food journey.” I sure hope the APA has already booked Drew Ramsey to speak again at next year’s annual meeting. His message to medical professionals is the kind that needs to go viral.
What has your experience been with diet and mood? Or diet and just how you feel in general? And have your medical practitioners been dialed in on the topic?
I think various kinds of nuts make excellent brain-food, especially when suspended in a thick bar of Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate… 🙂
Ohhhhhh yeah, now you’re talking. Except that we don’t get the ‘real’ Cadbury’s over here. It says Cadbury’s, but it’s just not the same.
I read years ago it’s something to do with vegetable fat and animal fat. I think in Europe and America they use vegetable fat because it’s slightly less unhealthy, but in the UK you get the artery-clogging animal fat, which is why it tastes so damn good 🙂
And to think corporate America might be doing something that’s healthier than someplace else… could it be because of (gasp) regulation, I wonder. I also noticed the same thing with Milka. North American Milka is not very good.
To boot: When you are depressed you eat for comfort, decreasing your self esteem because of the extra pounds. So eating worsens the symptoms on many levels! It’s about time the medical field learns this stuff!
Hmmm, yes, been there!
I’m not eating wisteria vines either–I mean, huh? As for the rest, having Mediterranean blood makes it easy to follow the recommended brain diet: it’s the staple at our house. Luckily, hubs and I also love salmon. It’s catfish that I can’t abide. About time western medicine docs are starting to figure this out; past time actually. Glad they’re finally getting it.
Ohhhh, I wish I loved salmon. And I really hope this information takes hold in Western medicine. I’ve been puzzling over the various possible reasons for skyrocketing depression rates over the last 40-50 years and this could very likely be a strong contributing factor, given the way our (the proverbial ‘our’) diets shifted a lot.
Lucky for me, I love seafood. Unlucky for me I also love butter, and cheese, and salt, and ice-cream, and did I say salt? And fat… oh the list goes on. However, my unabashed gluttonous ways tend to leave me feeling down and out. Eating lighter really does make a person feel lighter, mentally and physically. I compare my groceries now to what I brought home a decade or more ago, and I know I’m doing good, but could always make an effort to even better.
It’s a continuous journey, for sure. I recently did an elimination diet due to allergies and once I started eating things again after not eating them for three weeks, I really noticed what made me feel good and what didn’t. Like you, I also love ice cream and it’s one of the things I’ve had to cut! But we know more now than we did 10 years ago, and the journey continues. Thanks for reading, Jeri.
Great article! I know that when I eat healthier, I feel better. And when I eat nuts, my brains seems to focus better. If I eat badly, things go haywire…especially if it’s the wrong time of the month. Too much sugar definitely affects my hormones, and that’s not a good thing. Unfortunately, I crave some of the bad stuff during during that time.
Thanks for the food for thought. 🙂
Sugar and hormones, hey? I wonder if my hormones will chill out now that I’m cutting way down on sugar. And then there’s the cravings… cheesecake is always on my mind… Thanks for stopping in, Lisa!
I’ve been eating a lot better than I did in my early years, but I’m never sure if I have less depression because of the food or because I’m generally more content with my life (I think the second is a bigger part).
For a while I tried to give up eating animal products all together, but I got really, really hungry. Now I eat lots of vegetables, some fruit, some grains, some beans (I have lots of recipes for beans, either dips or sauteed or salads) and some chicken/beef/fish. I feel better if I lay low on the dairy.
Yes, the dairy seems to be a big culprit for a lot of things. It also creates sinus issues for me. And beans, beans, beans, beans. I’m starting to love the beans, too! Glad you’re eating and feeling better, Leora!
Hard, sometimes, to disentangle feeling grim because our diet is rubbish, or eating rubbish and so feeling grim. I do my best – and don’t eat meat (so score points there), and have a great local fruit and veg market. But the long winter days – then it’s wine and chocolate that sometimes sees me through (and buying a flight to somewhere sunny!)
I know what you mean. I will say, though, I did the elimination diet for a few weeks, and then was really surprised how icky certain foods made me feel when I reintroduced them, e.g. bread. Things I’d been eating for years but didn’t have full-on allergic reactions to, so thought were okay. But you never really know until you cut them completely and then dip your toe back in the water. Chocolate is one thing that I will never cut, wine is something I should cut but I still sneak a glass here and there and pay the price of red eyes and sniffles the next morning. But, geez, in the absence of a plane ticket, what’s a girl to do, Jo?
Hi Laura – Thanks so much for the support, nice comments, and nice blog. Yes we will be back at the APA in May in NYC. Emily Deans, MD and I are presenting a workshop – Food and the Brain – and also a symposium on Evolutionary Psychiatry that includes a lot of information and clinical pearls about nutrition.
Relevant to your site – I am having a lot of fun hearing from people all over the world about their love of kale!
Thanks again!
Best,
Drew
Hi Drew, I’m delighted you found this post! And also truly glad to hear that you and Emily will be at APA’s annual meeting again, doing more on this topic. I think it’s incredibly important, and fear that food is too often left out of consideration during treatment for depression.
Regarding kale, I don’t know why it took so long for kale to become popular. Somebody out there must have been making kale chips and smoothies and whatnot back in the 70s and 80s and just holding out on sharing it with everyone! I also love kale, but sadly, when I got my blood tested for food allergies in May, kale was one of three things that registered a strong reaction and was put on my “avoid” list (along with eggs and navy beans). How can anybody be allergic to kale?!
Thanks for your comment and I’ll make sure to look for some post-APA presentation recap notes on their site next May.