If you crave sweets, salty or fatty foods when you’re feeling blue, you aren’t alone, according to Dr. Shawn Talbott, Ph.D., a nutritional biochemist and author, who explains via Everyday Health, “If we eat better foods, like lean proteins, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and fish, we short-circuit the junk food cravings and have higher energy levels and sharper mental focus."
What we eat can affect our bodies in many ways. Some foods increase physical stress on the body because they are more difficult to digest, or they fill you up while denying the brain essential nutrients. What we drink can have just as great an impact: caffeine-laden drinks and alcoholic beverages can both put considerable strain on the body and mind.
For people with depression, the negative effects of poor diet choices may be felt more intensely than for others. For example, studies have shown that people who suffer from depression may have a lower threshold for pain, so their perception of gastrointestinal upset from eating a fast-food meal may feel more intense than a similar case in someone not fighting depression. A hangover may mean a day in bed recovering from a night on the town, rather than the ability to take two aspirin and head into the office. Food choices, especially those used to self-medicate, can have negative consequences.
Relying on caffeine as a pick me up, for example, can raise stress hormones and can cause insomnia, both of which can exacerbate depression symptoms. Heavy consumption of caffeinated beverages like coffee has also been linked in studies to other unhealthy lifestyle choices, including smoking. These lifestyle choices can take a physical toll and further increases anxiety, headaches and withdrawal symptoms when we try to eliminate them, and otherwise exacerbate depression symptoms.