Does what you eat cause depression?

[Red Herring]

On the flip side, I have gotten more shit than I ever imagined from simply saying I'm eating less meat more often. I'm not bitching about your steak so fuck off insecure omnivores.

Weird. Isn't that what is always recommended? Less and higher quality instead of loads of low quality meat? Sounds like a great choice to me. No bitching from me, I can guarantee you, sounds like a very reasonable decision.

Yup! I know it sounds shocking and fishy but lemme reiterate!

So we absorb Vitamin D from skin synthesis or foods (ex: like mushrooms) due to the UVB radiation from the Sun. Human skin is technically the biggest organ of our body. So lets say the individual is standing on the grass. The sunlight is hitting the person AND the ground where their bare feet are connected to. The person's bare feet is protected by skin and the skin is absorbing the UVB radiation from the sun through a phenomenon called "Earthing".

Earthing is when the human body has direct connection to the earth (or ground) and absorbs the Earth's electrons from the ground into the body. The bare feet absorbed like 10x the amount of Vitamin D (aka UVB radiation) from the sun when grounding occurred.

I won't go deeply into the study but here is a quote and link to it. Also, there have been links to barefoot running helping with depression because it promotes grounding/earthing and the increased reuptake of UVB radiation and Vitamin D hormonal synthesis in the body. So I definitely think that our environment is one of the factors to depression.:



SOURCE: Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons

Thanks for your answer and the link. I honestly appreciate it. However, from everything I could gather, "earthing" is fringe science at best, so personally I am not at all convinced. On the other hand, there is no harm in barefoot walking which can indeed be pleasurable as long as you don't step on or into anything nasty. So no reason not to, I guess.

 

[á´…eparted]

Yup! I know it sounds shocking and fishy but lemme reiterate!

So we absorb Vitamin D from skin synthesis or foods (ex: like mushrooms) due to the UVB radiation from the Sun. Human skin is technically the biggest organ of our body. So lets say the individual is standing on the grass. The sunlight is hitting the person AND the ground where their bare feet are connected to. The person's bare feet is protected by skin and the skin is absorbing the UVB radiation from the sun through a phenomenon called "Earthing".

Earthing is when the human body has direct connection to the earth (or ground) and absorbs the Earth's electrons from the ground into the body. The bare feet absorbed like 10x the amount of Vitamin D (aka UVB radiation) from the sun when grounding occurred.

I won't go deeply into the study but here is a quote and link to it. Also, there have been links to barefoot running helping with depression because it promotes grounding/earthing and the increased reuptake of UVB radiation and Vitamin D hormonal synthesis in the body. So I definitely think that our environment is one of the factors to depression.:

SOURCE: Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons

This sounds shocking and fishy, because it's flagrent bullshit and wrong with no meaningful scientific basis whatsoever.

Vitamin D is synthesized in the body catalyzed by UVB radation. That bit is correct. We also intake it through dietary sources. It's well known that while we do get vitamin D through sun exposure, most individuals in the world get little through that as the sun's angle is too low in the sky to allow for efficient biosynthesis. And a large portion of the world lives above this critical angle for most if not all of any given year. That alone throws this "theory" out for a significant portion of the world right off the bat.

Next, the idea that a persons bare feet connected to the ground somehow boosts vitamin D synthesis is entirely hooey. There is no basis to the "theory" that physical contact with the ground increases vitamin D synthesis due to "electrons". That's just a bunch of jargon buzzword babble that means absolutely nothing and is just trying to pretend to sound "factual" (which it utterly fails at). The biosynthesis of vitamin D is well known, and the suggestion of adding "electrons" will somehow improve this synthesis doesn't even have a theoretical basis to it.

The basis of "earthing's" benefits most likely stems from psychological effects, similar to simply being in nature which does show some health benefits. That paper is also poorly written, and becomes readily apparent after skimming just a few paragraphs. The paper is at least partial (if not full) quackery. Just because you cite something, doesn't mean something becomes credible.

Thanks for your answer and the link. I honestly appreciate it. However, from everything I could gather, "earthing" is fringe science at best, so personally I am not at all convinced. On the other hand, there is no harm in barefoot walking which can indeed be pleasurable as long as you don't step on or into anything nasty. So no reason not to, I guess.

If you want be nice about it sure, you can say this. "Earthing" can be psycholologically beneficial to some, but that's about it.

 

[ceecee]

Weird. Isn't that what is always recommended? Less and higher quality instead of loads of low quality meat? Sounds like a great choice to me. No bitching from me, I can guarantee you, sounds like a very reasonable decision.

Right but in the US, many who tend towards paranoid and fear, don't trust or believe anyone claiming expertise. They apparently do trust propaganda, fantastical scientific bullshit and con artist hawking their products to fix the problems. But they do have the god given right to critique others' diet choices, unsolicited.

 

[á´…eparted]

Right but in the US, many who tend towards paranoid and fear, don't trust or believe anyone claiming expertise. They apparently do trust propaganda, fantastical scientific bullshit and con artist hawking their products to fix the problems. But they do have the god given right to critique others' diet choices, unsolicited.

It might be a right, but that doesn't make it right. Such things deserve no respect. That's earned, not given.

 

[xenaprincess]

My theory is that too much salt leads to depression.
I have no basis for this except my own goings on....when I've had too much sodium I feel no good, not just in the physical sense.

 

[ceecee]

It might be a right, but that doesn't make it right. Such things deserve no respect. That's earned, not given.

I was being sarcastic in that bolded quote. I mean anyone can certainly tell me what they think of my plate of food. Just like I can tell them to take this huge, healthy cucumber and shove it up their ass.

 

[Tilt]

Essentially, yes. Food is our fuel. If you don't consistently put quality fuel in, then it wears down the body quicker and causes bodily functions to become inefficient. However, each body has a slightly different balance to perform efficiently.

 

[entropie]

most people think their mind was detached from the rest of the body

 

[magpie]

Came across this on yahoo and thought it was relevant to the OP and interesting food for thought, no pun intended.

Study provides new evidence of biological link between diet and depression

 

[Tellenbach]

There is probably an exercise or physical activity component to mood as well; when I was little, very little made me happier than nailing some slow poke in dodgeball - thwack!!

 

[Yara the Corpse]

Yup! I know it sounds shocking and fishy but lemme reiterate!

So we absorb Vitamin D from skin synthesis or foods (ex: like mushrooms) due to the UVB radiation from the Sun. Human skin is technically the biggest organ of our body. So lets say the individual is standing on the grass. The sunlight is hitting the person AND the ground where their bare feet are connected to. The person's bare feet is protected by skin and the skin is absorbing the UVB radiation from the sun through a phenomenon called "Earthing".

Earthing is when the human body has direct connection to the earth (or ground) and absorbs the Earth's electrons from the ground into the body. The bare feet absorbed like 10x the amount of Vitamin D (aka UVB radiation) from the sun when grounding occurred.

I won't go deeply into the study but here is a quote and link to it. Also, there have been links to barefoot running helping with depression because it promotes grounding/earthing and the increased reuptake of UVB radiation and Vitamin D hormonal synthesis in the body. So I definitely think that our environment is one of the factors to depression.:



SOURCE: Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons

Whenever I go for hikes I like to take off my shoes after stopping by a warm and sunny area where I can feel the warmth of the rocks and earth. It always feel nice and It's good to let feet breathe once in awhile, not that feet suffocating causes depression but being more exposed to natural elements tends to make you feel more alive and responsive to the world.

 

[Ocean_Breeze]

Well I wouldn't say diet causes depression, nor can diet alone cure it. But nutrient deficiencies definitely have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing and could probably amplify certain symptoms like low energy levels. I suffer from mild depression and use nutrition and exercise as part of taking care of my well-being and when I eat well and feel like I'm nourishing myself then I do feel better than if I eat several bags of sweets. I think the sweet thing sends me into a spiral of 'why did I do that? I feel sick now. And all that sugar will make me break out....' and then regret eating the sweets. Can't say I've ever regretted a bowl of blueberries though.

I think food can be more of a psychological helper than a physical one (besides making sure we have all the nutrients we need). For example, I found that preparing family meals helped because I got stuck into an activity that didn't require that much effort, had a positive outcome at the end and when we'd eat I was surrounded by family who all show appreciation for what I've made them. I'm not sure it'd help severe sufferers but for those with very mild depression like me, the sense that I'm taking care of myself lifts my mood.

 

[Amberiat]

Your diet most likely has no direct effect on your mental health. Making a change in your diet, especially a positive one can help indirectly however.

 

[rav3n]

Microbials can impact on emotional states. Whether it's what you're eating that's stimulating growth of the wrong type(s), creating an imbalance or that your body's simply missing a beneficial variety(ies) of microbial, who knows. There might also be a genetic component to it, relative to autism and gut bacteria.

Brain Structure and Response to Emotional Stimuli as Related... : Psychosomatic Medicine

Objective Brain-gut-microbiota interactions may play an important role in human health and behavior. Although rodent models have demonstrated effects of the gut microbiota on emotional, nociceptive, and social behaviors, there is little translational human evidence to date. In this study, we identify brain and behavioral characteristics of healthy women clustered by gut microbiota profiles.

Methods Forty women supplied fecal samples for 16S rRNA profiling. Microbial clusters were identified using Partitioning Around Medoids. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was acquired. Microbiota-based group differences were analyzed in response to affective images. Structural and diffusion tensor imaging provided gray matter metrics (volume, cortical thickness, mean curvature, surface area) as well as fiber density between regions. A sparse Partial Least Square-Discrimination Analysis was applied to discriminate microbiota clusters using white and gray matter metrics.

Results Two bacterial genus-based clusters were identified, one with greater Bacteroides abundance (n = 33) and one with greater Prevotella abundance (n = 7). The Prevotella group showed less hippocampal activity viewing negative valences images. White and gray matter imaging discriminated the two clusters, with accuracy of 66.7% and 87.2%, respectively. The Prevotella cluster was associated with differences in emotional, attentional, and sensory processing regions. For gray matter, the Bacteroides cluster showed greater prominence in the cerebellum, frontal regions, and the hippocampus.

Conclusions These results support the concept of brain-gut-microbiota interactions in healthy humans. Further examination of the interaction between gut microbes, brain, and affect in humans is needed to inform preclinical reports that microbial modulation may affect mood and behavior.

 

[EddieJohnson]

Yes i totally agree with you. There are lots of connection between consuming food and depression. If you consume lots of eat such as processed meat, fried food, refined cereals, candy, pastries, and high-fat dairy products, then it could lead to depression. It is highly recommended always consume healthy food it can make a positive impact on your health.
According to new theory to be vegetarian do not causes depression. But the older theory says vegetarians receive fewer nutrients and vitamin B12 could lead to depression.

 

[EddieJohnson]

connection between consuming food and depression

Yes i totally agree with you. There are lots of connection between consuming food and depression. If you consume lots of eat such as processed meat, fried food, refined cereals, candy, pastries, and high-fat dairy products, then it could lead to depression. It is highly recommended always consume healthy food it can make a positive impact on your health.
According to new theory to be vegetarian do not causes depression. But the older theory says vegetarians receive fewer nutrients and vitamin B12 could lead to depression.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Eating vegetables seems to put me in a better mood much of the time.

 

[Peter Deadpan]

Cause is a slippery descriptor... but for a simple answer: sorta, yes.

 

[Saturnal Snowqueen]

I don't think directly, but I think altering things in your diet can help. If I'm just sitting around eating junk and not exercising, I just feel like a lifeless blob. Eating healthier does give me a bit more energy and thus makes me happier, but it's not some cure all. I've been dieting by cutting out carbs and sugary drinks and eating more salad and it hasn't made me much happier. Heck, it doesn't even make me feel better physically half the time, but maybe that's just me, always tired and dull.

 

[Peter Deadpan]

Your mom makes me sad, so yeah... probably.