How To Overcome Depression: Brain Food

In a previous article on how to overcome depression I emphasized the widespread deficiencies in magnesium and the consequences. Another major factor in the underlying causes of depression can be attributed to a lack of, or imbalance in what I have termed brain food.

When I use the term brain food I am referring to food containing nutrients necessary for neuronal connectivity. Specifically, these are a small group of sulphur-containing amino acids, which can act as transmitters or precursors to hormones like serotonin, well known for their anti-depressive effects.

When looking at how to overcome depression it is essential to be aware of how critical these nutrients are to a state of mental well-being. It is also crucial to recognize why so many of us are deficient in these essential nutrients.

As I noted in an earlier article depression is a product of modern society and was not prevalent before the 20th century. Although the necessary sulphur-containing amino acids are plentiful, found mainly in eggs and meat they require omega-3 fatty acid to metabolize them.

One of the reasons that people are deficient brain food is because the cholesterol myth perpetrated by refined vegetable oil interests has scared people away from eggs and meat. But that is not the only reason. Although nature has provided the effective and safe ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fats, the food giants in commercializing the production and distribution of most of what we eat, have dramatically upset this ratio!

Studies have shown that when the ratio of omega 6:3 exceeds 4:1 people begin to have health problems. Eggs from chickens which feed on insects and green plants, as in free range or pasture fed, have omega 6:3 ratios around 1:1. With grain fed chicken eggs, as in commercial, the omega 6:3 ratio can be as high as 19:1!

The same stands true for beef. Pasture fed beef has a ratio of 3:1 whereas commercial feedlot beef is more like 20:1! Hence, in terms of underlying causes of depression, this artificial imbalance is a double whammy.

The imbalance in the omega 6:3 ratio in commercial foods is unhealthy in and of itself, but has further caused a general deficiency in omega-3. Omega-3 is essential to metabolize the sulphur-containing amino acids necessary for neuronal connectivity.

This situation is magnified by the success of the refined vegetable oil interests grabbing the market and scaring meat and eggs off the table. Corn oil, for example has an omega 6:3 ratio of 46:1. Cotton seed oil, the worst I have come across yet, is an astounding 259:1.

By way of comparison to put a perspective on this, nature provides ratios like 9:1 in butter and 5:1 in beef tallow. The 20th century with all of its innovations in food production has us straying dangerously far from the norms found in nature.

We are currently not only seeing, but suffering the consequences of this move with a dramatic increase in degenerative disease and depression. Although, due to the nature of the scourge there has been a multitude of studies and hypotheses of the underlying causes of depression, most have missed the point.

With the problem being unheard of in primitive cultures and exceedingly rare prior to the onset of the 20th century the cause shouldn't be too difficult to determine. It has obviously got its roots in nutrition as that is the underlying factor, which has changed the most.

The problem is that research grants are biased towards discovering new pharmaceuticals and away from upsetting the apple cart with other corporations like refined oil interests. I submit that a do it yourself way around the problem lies in ensuring sufficient uptake of magnesium and omega-3.

I have already suggested ways of doing the former, but with omega-3 there are a couple of cautions. The first and obvious is to aim for a reasonable omega 6:3 ratio. Secondly, omega fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids.

This means they easily go rancid and need to be handled with care. Oils like flax-seed, for example, with high concentrations of omega-3 should never be used in cooking or heated up at all. They should also be refrigerated for storage.

More information on how to overcome depression can be found at our diamond, expert author's website at Culinary Tidbits.

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