Boosting Moods with Foods

Written By Michael Greger M.D. FACLM.
In my video Plant-Based Diets for Improved Mood and Productivity, I discuss a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of dietary patterns and depression that concluded that a healthy diet pattern was “significantly associated with a reduced odds of depression.”

However, out of the 21 studies the researchers were able to find in the medical literature, they were only able to find one randomized controlled trial, the study design that provides the highest level of evidence. It was the study I profiled in my Improving Mood Through Diet video, in which removing meat (including fish and poultry) and eggs improved several mood scores in just two weeks.

We’ve known those eating plant-based diets tend to have healthier mood states—less tension, anxiety, depression, anger, hostility, and fatigue—but we couldn’t tell if it was cause and effect until it was put to the test, which researchers finally did. What could account for such rapid results?

Eating a vegetarian diet gives you a better antioxidant status, which may help with depression, as I discussed in Antioxidants and Depression.

Also, as I previously addressed in A Better Way to Boost Serotonin, consumption of even a single carbohydrate-rich meal can improve depression, tension, anger, confusion, sadness, fatigue, alertness, and calmness scores among patients with premenstrual syndrome. But what about long-term?

You here view the full article here.

Learn to support your health and vitality by eating alkaline plant foods on the Dr. Sebi Nutritional Guide »