Feeling melancholy around the winter holidays is common. In fact, a survey conducted in 2006 for the American Psychological Association found nearly 40 percent of respondents (44 percent of women and 31 percent of men) said they experienced the infamous "Holiday Blues".
High expectations, financial woes, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or general stress can send your Fa-la-la-la-la packing. But did you know what you eat could also be playing havoc with your sense of well-being?
Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found women whose diet includes mostly foods that trigger inflammation — like sugar-sweetened or diet soft drinks, refined grains, red meat, and margarine — and fewer foods that help control inflammation — like wine, coffee, olive oil, as well as green leafy and yellow vegetables — have up to a 41 percent greater risk of being diagnosed with depression than those who eat mostly less inflammatory foods.
It's one of the most comprehensive studies to date to link certain foods to inflammation and depression.
But Michel Lucus, the study’s lead author and a visiting scientist at the HSPH, says don’t toss out your rice just yet.
Since foods are consumed together, no one food — like rice or margarine — creates a diet-disease risk. Rather, he says, it’s a person’s whole diet and how those foods interact within the human body.
Previous research suggests a link between inflammation and depression, but researchers didn’t know there was an association between inflammatory dietary pattern and depression.
Although some inflammation can be useful in fighting disease and injury within the immune system, numerous studies have identified excessive inflammation leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and other health conditions.
Lucus and colleagues followed the diets and moods of 43,685 women ages 50-77 without depression when they first entered the study in 1996 until the end of the study in 2008.
The researchers found women who regularly drank sodas, ate red meat or refined grains, and infrequently consumed wine, coffee, olive oil, and vegetables were 29-41 percent more likely to be depressed than those who ate the less inflammatory diet.
For the study, published online October 1, 2013 in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, the researchers defined depression by strict (a diagnosis of depression and antidepressant use) and broad (a diagnosis of depression and/or antidepressant use) definitions.
At the end of the study period, 2,594 people had depression based on the stricter definition and 6,446 people had depression based on the broader definition.
“These results converge with parallel findings on the relation between diet and physical health. From a public health perspective, it is reassuring that what is good for the body is also good for the mind,” said Alberto Ascherio, the study’s senior author and HSPH professor of epidemiology and nutrition in a written statement.
The researchers acknowledged that it's possible that depression may spur people to eat more inflammation-linked foods — especially around the holidays. However, they noted data from about 10,000 women who had depression at the start of the study were excluded to control for this effect.
The Mayo Clinic offers more tips to beat the Holiday Blues.
Lynette Summerill is an award-winning writer and Scuba enthusiast who lives in San Diego with her husband and two beach loving dogs. In addition to writing about cancer-related issues for EmpowHER, her work has been seen in publications internationally.
Sources:
“Inflammatory dietary pattern and risk of depression among women.” Michel Lucas, Patricia Chocano-Bedoya, Mathias B. Shulze, Fariba Mirzaei, Éilis J. O’Reilly, Olivia I. Okereke, Frank B. Hu, Walter C. Willett, Alberto Ascherio, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, Available online 1 October 2013, ISSN 0889-1591, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2013.09.014.
Abstract at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159113004698
Harvard School of Public Health News. Inflammatory dietary pattern linked to depression among women. Marge Dwyer. 7 Nov. 2013.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/inflammatory-dietary-pattern-linked-to-depression-among-women
APA Survey Shows Holiday Stress Putting Women’s Health at Risk. American Psychological Association, Press Release. 12/12/2006.
http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2006/12/women-stress.aspx
Tips for coping with stress and depression during the holidays. Mayo Clinic. Accessed 11 December 2013.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/MH00030
Reviewed December 19, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith