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Eat These Foods to Get Happy
This Week's Tips
From the land of olives and gyros comes the key to sidestepping a low mood.
Eating a Mediterranean-style diet appears to help lower the risk of depression by about 30 percent, thanks to a high concentration of good-for-you-fats and B vitamins.
Opa!
Olives, fresh seafood, hummus served with crisp veggies -- items like these are staples of Mediterranean fare. Fortunately, they not only are good for you but taste good, too. And the beneficial fats, B vitamins, and powerful antioxidants found in traditional Mediterranean cuisine supply your brain with the nutrients it needs to stay in good working order. Perfecto. Because when your brain works the way it should, you're less likely to get depressed! (Here's a detailed breakdown of the foods you should eat when you go Mediterranean.)
Food Fights Depression
A Mediterranean menu helps your brain in several ways. It's rich in inflammation-fighting phytochemicals, nerve-cell nurturing "healthy" fats, and neurotransmitter-assisting B vitamins. The healthy fats -- like those found in olive oil -- also help feel-good serotonin bind to brain receptors. (Did you know? Bad fats up your risk of feeling down. Here's how to steer clear of them.)
Still feeling blue? Watch Drs. Roizen and Oz discuss how music, bananas, and gratitude help beat depression.
RealAge Benefit:
Eating a diverse diet that is low in calories and high in nutrients can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
Association of the Mediterranean dietary pattern with the incidence of depression: the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra/University of Navarra follow-up (SUN) cohort. Sánchez-Villegas, A. et al., Archives of General Psychiatry 2009 Oct;66(10):1090-1098.
