6 Veggies for Better Eye Health

Green Leafy Vegetables for Improving Mood

If food is a drug, it could be your medicine. Following such logic, illness has its cure (or at least its alleviation) in food. This holds true then for depression and bad moods. Food does have the power to make or break mental health.

Modern meals are rife with processed foods that render the body nutritionally imbalanced and open to a host of ailments, including depression. Bad nutrition affects brain chemistry. As one of the first line of defences against mood disorders is the elimination of an unhealthy diet and its replacement with one rich with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

Dark leafy vegetables are nutrient dense foods and one of the best kinds you need to incorporate in your diet. They are a powerhouse of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that can help alleviate depression.

Vegetarian vs. Omnivorous Diet

In a 2012 study conducted by the Nutrition Department, Benedictine University of Illinois, 39 omnivores were divided into three groups. The first group, dubbed the control or OMN group, was given a daily diet of meat, fish, and poultry. The second group, the FISH group, were assigned to consume fish 3-4 times a week and to stay completely away from meat and poultry. The third group, the VEG group, were given a vegetarian diet, totally free of meat, fish, and poultry. The participants had to adhere to their diets for two weeks.

After two weeks, each participant was given questionnaires to assess their moods and stress levels. The OMN group and the FISH group scored same on the mood scale as they did before they came into the trial. Mood scores, however, for the VEG group showed marked improvements after the two-week experiment.

According to the study, omnivorous diets are high in arachidonic acid (AA) which may alter brain chemistry to disturb moods. Although the FISH group may have increased their intake of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, these did not seem to help any with tamping down AA and consequently, with mood upliftment. In conclusion, the study reveals that a vegetarian diet proves the best for short-term mood improvement.

A previous study conducted in 2010 at the Arizona State University likewise supports the fact that enhanced mood states may be associated with vegetarian diets. The research here involved a cross-sectional study of 138 healthy Seventh Day Adventists. Results of their Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and Profile of Mood States (POMS) tests showed that those on a solely vegetarian diet scored much less negative emotions than those on a combined fish and vegetable diet. By its nature, the fish-veggie diet contains higher levels of AA, EPA, and DHA and a veggie diet has a lot more ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) and LA (linolenic acid). ALA and LA seem to contribute positively to mood enhancement. These fatty acids are essential to health and can be found in seeds such as chia, rapeseed, flax, and kiwifruit seeds.

How Green Leafy Vegetables Stave Off Depression

Leafy greens can get us out of a blue funk. Dark green veggies have Vitamin B6 and folate, a B-complex vitamin. Vitamin B6 synthesizes the amino acid, tryptophan, into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps keep us in a positive mood. A serotonin imbalance often leads to depression, anxiety, excess anger, and a host of other issues. This is why antidepressant drugs are formulated and prescribed. The aim of these synthetic medicines is to boost production of serotonin in the brains of clinically depressed patients. A synthetically uplifted mood though comes at a price of side effects.

Aside from the B vitamins, leafy greens contain antioxidants which strengthen the immune system, among other benefits. A strong immune system makes for a strong body redounding to better mental health and disposition.

Depressed people tend to have raised levels of monoamine oxidase in their brains. MAO is a natural enzyme that cleans up neurotransmitters once their job of neuron communication is done. A high concentration of MAO however is not a good thing as it inhibits the volume of stress responding neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in the brain. Low levels of these neurotransmitters equals depression. To illustrate:

High MAO = Low Levels of Neurotransmitters = Depression.
A class of drugs called MAOIs or monoamine oxidase inhibitors are prescribed to depressed patients to chemically stop MAOs from reducing the needed neurotransmitters in the brain; however, these MAOIs produce a lot of side effects, a few of which can even be fatal.
Fortunately, there are natural occurring MAO inhibitors in fruits and vegetables. Phytonutrients in spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and oregano can act as natural monoamine oxidase inhibitors; but, one can’t eat enough volume of spices alone to get a sufficient MAOI amount. Dark leafy greens like kale however have the phytonutrients as well; and these (green leafies) we can eat a large amount of. This inhibitor phytonutrient is also present in berries, apples, and green tea. This explains why the studies point to vegetarians as having better mental dispositions over their meat or fish eating counterparts.

Let Food Be Thy Medicine

Since the quality of our food or diet is one of the keys to both physical and mental health, let us heed wise, old Hippocrates, who once again has proven to be ahead of his time in this:

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” - Hippocrates

With this in mind, let’s get a kick-start on incorporating more leafy greens into your diet. If you still haven’t developed the taste for whole green vegetables, smoothies with a pre-mixed veggie blend are a great way to get more of those leafy mood lifters into your eating lifestyle. Try this refreshing “100% Green Smoothie” from Coles:
Ingredients:

• 1 kiwifruit, peeled
  
• 1 / 2 Lebanese cucumber, chopped
• 1 tsp Nature’s Own Superfood Blends 6 Supergreens
  (Tamps down the raw, tangy taste of leafy vegetables while giving you all the depression-fighting phytonutrients from them)
• 2 tbsp mint leaves. Keep some extras for garnish
• 1 / 2 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp maple syrup, optional

How-To:

Put all ingredients in a blender and process for 1 minute or until smooth and frothy. Pour this nutritious concoction into a glass and garnish with the extra mint leaves. Drink to your health.
It is ideal to get those leafy greens in at least once a day. And be patient. The feel good neurotransmitters take some time to get their balance if you take the natural way to mental health.

Food Is Only Part of the Battle

Of course, food is only part of the depression battle; but, no less important. The natural way to good mental health also entails a consistent exercise regimen; avoidance of bad health habits such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse; adequate sleep (highly underrated); strong support group; and coping therapies.