True comfort food

Nutrition researchers are now finding that certain foods help stave off depression, control pain and trigger excitement.

“We’re on the cusp of finding out just how important nutrition is to mental health,” says Brenda Leung, a nutrition researcher at the University of Calgary who is studying food’s effect on post-partum depression.

While some of the research is preliminary, it can’t hurt to put more of these foods on your plate.

1. Fish
A University of Arizona scientific review concluded the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapenta-enoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) — found in fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines, and often added to eggs and other foods — significantly helped people with major depressive disorders and bipolar depression.

The American Psychiatric Association endorsed the review and now recommends that adults eat fish twice a week, and that people with mental health disorders consume at least one gram of omega-3s a day.

2. Milk
Deficiencies in vitamin D have already been linked to higher rates of cancer and multiple sclerosis in northern countries such as Canada. A 2008 study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry showed that it also has a link to depression. Researchers in Amsterdam looked at 1,282 seniors and found that vitamin D levels were 14 per cent lower in those with depression. Milk, soy drinks and margarine are fortified with D, and it occurs naturally in fish, liver and egg yolks. Health Canada currently recommends that adults ages 19 to 50 take an additional 200 IU per day in a supplement.

3. Grains and greens
Leafy greens and fortified cereals are good for your brain. At the University of Kuopio in Finland, a study followed 2,313 men for more than 10 years. Those with the lowest intake of folate (vitamin B9, found in lentils, spinach, berries, oranges and avocados) were more likely to be diagnosed with depression than those who got more. Deficiencies in vitamin B12 (in shellfish, dairy and eggs), and vitamin B6 (in bananas, potatoes and fortified cereal) have also been linked to depression.

4. Tea
A cup of tea does soothe. A survey of 2,000 Finns found that those who drank a cup of tea every day were less likely to be depressed than those who didn’t. And no one who drank more than five cups a day was found to be depressed. Studies have theorized that the theanine in tea helps calm you.

5. Carrots, sweet potatoes and squash
Orange vegetables with beta carotene — part of a fat-soluble group of compounds called carotenoids — not only help your eyesight, but also affect the brain. A study published in 2007 followed a group of 5,956 men for 18 years, by which time they were over age 65, and compared those who took beta carotene supplements with those who didn’t. Those taking beta carotene (which the body converts to vitamin A) did significantly better on cognition, verbal memory and other brain-related tests. Avoid beta carotene supplements if you are or ever were a smoker; studies link them to a higher risk of lung cancer in smokers.

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