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The Most Important Food for Balancing Your Mood

by | Jan 17, 2015 | Anxiety, Depression, Food as medicine, Medication | 6 comments

Your diet is an essential key to healing depression and anxiety naturally. You cannot successfully get off antidepressants, for example, without a mood-supporting diet.

This can be daunting to figure out, given all the diets, superfoods and instant cures your friends post on Facebook.

Fortunately, from a foundational standpoint, there’s a simple place to start.

If you change nothing else in your diet now, do this: Make sure every meal contains 20-30 grams of protein. Yup, every meal.

Ideally animal protein at least half of that time.

Why protein?
It has a low glycemic index, which means it will not spike your blood sugar. Imbalanced blood sugar triggers your stress hormone, cortisol, which in turn can make you feel anxious.

Blood sugar swings also deprive your brain of consistent fuel, which can result in depressive thoughts, lack of focus, and fatigue.

Real life example: A low protein breakfast (like granola, or a low fat mocha latte) is often followed by a late-morning (or mid-afternoon) energy and mood crash. If you’re like me, that crash often results in a desperate pastry purchase (“Stale chocolate croissant? It’ll do!”) which you almost always regret.
A solid breakfast of 2-3 eggs, or a piece of last night’s chicken dinner, on the other hand, keeps energy and mood stable, making you more effective and yes, happier, throughout the day.

Why is it important to eat animal protein?
Animal protein always contains all the essential amino acids, which are the raw materiasl for your feel-good chemicals: serotonin, dopamine and GABA. “Essential” means you have to get it from food – the body cannot manufacture it.

Also, many people have a hard time digesting plant-based protein. This is particularly important, because people with anxiety and depression often have digestive problems as well. When that is the case, highly absorbable nutrient sources are a must.

Beans, for example, tend to cause gas – a sure sign you are not processing the food properly. Meat, when chewed properly and not eaten in excess, rarely triggers bloating or loose stools.

Another important reason to eat meat is that it contains highly-absorbable iron. For women in their childbearing years, low grade iron deficiency is incredibly common, and is a hidden cause of a lot of health problems. This isn’t as much of an issue for men.

Here are a few examples of 20-30 grams of protein:
Two or three eggs
A piece of meat or fish – preferably wild, or organic – about the size of your palm. This includes bison, elk, duck, as well as your more familiar beef, chicken and fish
Two scoops of protein powder (check the nutrition facts)
One cup of beans, legumes or tofu

I’m a big believer in making one change at a time, so you can give it your full commitment and really see if it works.

Try this one for a few weeks, and let me know what happens.

Teray Garchitorena Kunishi, ND

Dr. Teray offers natural and integrative programs for healing anxiety & depression, chronic fatigue, and digestive conditions. She is a licensed naturopathic doctor, wellness coach, author, and creator of the Deeply Happy Expert Series. She serves clients globally via phone and video consultation.
Get in touch at http://www.deeplyhappy.com/contact/

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