Mood lifters: Home cures for depression
A large section of the population, in the West as well as in India, suffers from depression
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-02-21 00:34 GMT
Vitamin B:
Doctors prescribe folic acid to relieve depression.
B vitamins help our bodies make brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that help regulate our moods and transmit messages through our brain. All B vitamins play an important role in this but folic acid, B6 and B12 deficiencies, specifically, can affect the production of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), serotonin and dopamine low levels of these three neurotransmitters are linked to depression and other mood disorders.
Vitamin C:
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that many of us associate with curing the common cold. While it may not be the common cold cure we all hope for, it does help protect us from cancer, stroke and cardiovascular disease, and it is beneficial to our eye health and boosts our immune system.
Vitamin C may also alleviate symptoms of depression it plays a role in how our body synthesises the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, a brain chemical that affects our mood.
So, add more fruits and vegetables to your diet including citrus fruits, strawberries, melons, pineapple, berries, bell peppers, tomatoes and dark leafy greens, or have Vitamin C supplements.
Exercise:
While the link between exercise and alleviating symptoms of depression isn’t clear, researchers have found that regular exercise 30 to 60 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week can lift mood, reduce stress and boost self-esteem as well as protect against heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer.
When we exercise, our body temperature rises, which calms us, and our body releases chemicals that make us feel good: endorphins and norepinephrine.
Magnesium:
Symptoms of depression from mild apathy to psychosis and even suicidal thoughts may be related to a deficiency in magnesium.
While magnesium deficiencies are rare, increasing magnesium-rich foods in your daily diet could help boost your mood. Choose foods such as seeds and nuts (pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds, almonds and cashews), beans and legumes (black beans, navy beans, soybeans), dark leafy greens like spinach and whole grains.
Mediterranean diet:
A study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that a Mediterranean diet could help reduce your risk for depression. The Mediterranean diet emphasises eating monounsaturated fatty acids (for example, choose olive oil over butter), lots of omega-3 fatty acids from fish, nuts and legumes, and B vitamins from fruits, veggies and whole grains. Meat, dairy and alcohol aren’t forbidden but they aren’t the focus.
Meditation:
A study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Neuroscience in India found that up to 73 per cent of people who practiced a form of yoga called Sudarshan Kriya, where the emphasis is on breathing naturally through the nose with the mouth closed in three distinct rhythms, found relief from depression.