Depression

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Mental illness is both chemical and environmental – that as much as it is a chemical problem, there’s also an emotional basis for depression. In fact, brain scans show that depression is localised to the parts of the brain that deal with emotion. We’re often asked how much of mental illness comes from psychological factors and how much comes from brain chemistry. Many doctors answer, “One hundred percent of both.” That is, depression is an interrelated illness that affects many different parts of the mind.

(ii)         Dietary Factors – Depression it would seem, is as prevalent as common cold. Most tend to overlook it saying, ‘it will go away with time’. There might be a hundred reasons for this rapidly spreading affliction but what few know is that it might have something to do with their bad food habits which are one of the biggest contributors to depression. Nutrition plays a vital role in the onset, severity and duration of depression, including the incidence of daily mood swings. Researchers believe depression is actually one of the early signs of nutritional depletion. Poor diet consisting of junk, fast and fried foods, excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine, and poor eating habits such as skipping meals, poor appetite and a constant desire for sweet and starchy foods can make you prone to depressive symptoms.

          Depleted functioning of the adrenal glands is one of the main causes of mental depression. Irregular diet habits cause digestive problems and lead to the assimilation of fats. An excess of carbohydrates like cereals, white sugar, coffee, tea, chocolates and comparatively less quantities of vegetables and fruits in the diet may result in indigestion. Due to indigestion, gases are produced in the digestive tract, causing compression over the diaphragm in the region of the heart and lungs. This in turn, reduces the supply of oxygen to the tissues, which raises the carbon dioxide level, causing general depression.