Do Other Foods Cause Depression?

The main types of depression are major depression, persistent depressive disorder, psychotic depression and other types of depression. Major Depression is the most common type of depression where people lose interest in activities as well as changes in their appetite, sleeping and energy. They also have suicidal thoughts and feel insignificant. Persistent Depressive disorder is when

There are two main types of depression one being major depression that has the capability to mentally cripple the individual. Then we have mild depression or dysthymia that can be caused by situations also referred to as situational depression. Major depression is a very serious form of depression which handicaps the individual and makes them incapable of doing what we would consider everyday activities.

A major depressive episode is described as having a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure along with five (or more) of the following symptoms: (a) significant weight loss, (b) insomnia or hypersomnia, (c) psychomotor agitation or retardation, (d) fatigue or loss of energy, (e) feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt, (f) diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, and (g) recurrent

Mayoclinic.org (2015) defines depression as “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living.” It also states that it is not a weakness and that it can be long-term.

Generally, anyone can develop a type of depression (yahoo.com 1). Most cases of depression go unrecognized and are just considered bad moods (depression 475). There are many types of depression and many severity levels of the disorder. Typically, a person who is depressed will have a unipolar or a bipolar disorder. Unipolars suffer only from depression. This can be major or dysthymia. Bipolars can have severe ups and downs in mood, clarity of the mind, and energy levels. They also experience manic episodes-, which are extreme highs and can have a low at the same time (Quinn 1).

Major depression is a disorder, also known as clinical depression. Major Depression is a constant sense of hopelessness. (www.webmd.com, n.d.) When you have Major Depression, you will experience different symptoms, learn about treatment options, and learn how to deal with it on a day to day basis.

There are several different types of depression. Often they are distinguished by their features, duration and severity of symptoms. Most of these kinds of depression are defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), an American Psychiatric Association publication which describes the standard criteria for different types of psychiatric disorders.

'Depression is the persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest, it affect the way and how you feel and can lead to a verity of emotional and physical disorders, affecting normal and day to day activates that you do. depression can in most case if left undealt with, will lead to more severe depression that can only be treated with intense therapies, and in some case medication that alter the chemical levels in your brain to affect your mood that you are experiencing'. Major depressive disorder, is characterized by multiple depressive episodes that are experienced in the individuals these can be seen as a decline in certain behaviours in the action of the individuals.

The Western Diet mainly consists of fried foods, refined grains, sugar, high carbohydrate and fats, and meats (3). It has been hypothesized that having a Western Diet increases one’s chances for developing depression. There has been a great deal of research into why the western diet increase’s one chance of having depression. A common sense reason maybe that the Western Diet consisted of large amounts carbohydrates, fats and sugars which promotes obesity and then causes depression (1). More scientific evidence suggest that having a improper diet like the Western Diet negatively affects peripheral and central dopamine, which are neurotransmitters (chemical which transmit signals across the synapse from the nerve cell to the target cell)

People of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life have felt depressed and unhappy at some time in their lives. These periods of sadness usually pass after a short time, but for some people, this feeling can remain for weeks, months, and even years. (1) This prolonged state of unhappiness is called major (or clinical) depression and is characterized by a persistent sad or "empty" mood, loss of interest in favorite activities, difficulty concentrating, and many other symptoms. It is not simply a mental state but an illness that interferes with the way people feel, function, and think.(2)

Our current lifestyles and daily diets are filled with processed foods, fast foods and generally very have little health benefits. This in turn has seen the increase of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety/

Sixty-eight healthy men and women volunteered for a study on the effects of hunger on physiology, performance, and mood. Eating attitudes and food preferences were measured on entry to the study. The meal included sweet, salty, or bland high- and low-fat foods. Increases in blood pressure and changes in mood confirmed the effectiveness of the stressor. Stress did not alter overall intake, nor intake of, or appetite for the six food categories.

Sometimes people can use food as a comfort in stressful life events. Food can contiue to be a stress reliver when depression sets in from being overweight.

Mental health problems are believed to be the result of a combination of factors, including age, genetics and environmental factors. One of the most obvious, yet under-recognized factors in the development of major trends in mental health is the role of nutrition.(Associate Parliamentary & Health, 2008). Recent evidence suggests that good nutrition is essential for our mental health and that a number of mental health conditions may be influenced by dietary factors.. The body of evidence linking both diet and mental health is growing at a rapid pace ( Associate Parliamentary & Health, 2008). Recently, there have been a number of published studies identifying an inverse association between diet quality and the common mental disorders, namely depression and anxiety, in adults (Bellisle, 2004). Other prospective studies suggest that diet quality influences the risk for depressive illness in adults over time. The evidence indicates that food plays a contributing role in the development, management and prevention of specific mental health problems such as depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease ( Associate Parliamentary & Health, 2008).

Depression comes in an extremely wide range of forms, some of which are: psychological (major) depression, clinical depression, and manic-depression (bipolar disorder). Each form of depression acts in it's own way and has it's own symptoms and treatments. Every type of depression, if left untreated, could lead to an attempted suicide or death.