Depression

Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.), the father of medicine, included depression in his classification of mental illness. It has been called ‘the common cold of psychiatry.” It is the most prevalent of all the emotional disorders. It may vary from feelings of slight sadness to utter misery and dejection. It is the most unpleasant experience a person can endure and is far more difficult to cope with than a physical ailment. It is now firmly established that what one eats has a profound effect on moods. Although food choices may depend on taste or other conscious criteria that change brain chemistry and put them unconscious food choices that change brain chemistry and put them in a better mood. These foods serve as anti-depressants. Chronic depression has also been linked to a long term subtle deficiency of certain nutrients that presumably can go unnoticed and uncorrected by the body for long periods.

Foods seem to manipulate mood by effecting serotonin, one of the brain’s most remarkable neurotransmitters. Eating foods that deplete serotonin in the nervous system can make people depressed and their mood bad. On the other hand, taking foods that lead to normal amounts of serotonin in the brain elevates moods more or less in the same way as to do the drugs.

FOODS THAT ELEVATES MOODS

Apple, Asparagus Root, Cardamom, Cashewnut, Chilli Pepper, Garlic, Green Vegetables, Honey, Lemon balm, Selenium Rich-Foods and Vitamin B-Rich Foods.

Apple

The apple, a sub-acid fruit, is a higly nutritive food. It contains an abundance of minerals and vitamins. Apple is invaluable in the maintenance of good health and in the treatment of many ailments. The modern saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away’, sums up the healthful and nourishing qualities of this fruit.
This fruit is regarded as an anti-depressant food, which can help over come mental depression. The various chemical substances contained in this fruit such as vitamin B1, phosphorous and potassium help the synthesis of glutamic acid, which controls the wear and tear of nerve cells. The fruit should be eaten with milk and honey. This will act as a very effective nerve tonic and recharge the nerves with new energy and life, thereby elevating moods in case of depression.

Asparagus Root

The asparagus is a vegetable of great importance in the diet because of its valuable salts and vitamins as well as for its large amounts of cellulose contents. It has been cultivated throughout the temperate zones from the earliest times. It is an alkaline foodstuff, with multipurpose therapeutic properties.
The root of asparagus is an anti-depressant food and helps elevate moods. It makes and effective herbal medicine for the treatment of depression and other mental disorders. It is highly nutritious food and a good tonic for the brain and nerves. One or two grams of the powder of dry root of the plant can be taken once daily in treating these conditions.

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