Dietary habits bear an influence on a person’s mood due to a variety of factors. Depression can be caused due to the lack of proper nutrients for the body and overloading on foods that are detrimental to one’s health. According to a recent study, those who stuck to a healthy diet for a period of about 12 weeks and had symptoms of moderate to severe depression saw improved moods that helped them cope better.

While suffering from depression, the intake of fresh and whole foods is essential to regulating the body’s function. This also means staying away from junk or processed foods that clearly have a negative impact on the body. In addition to opting for medical treatment, it is also important to adopt a healthy diet to ensure that depression does not translate into serious health complications.

The foods that you need to avoid include the following:

1. Alcohol
It is a well-known fact that alcohol consumption can negatively impact your mental health. Most people during depression tend to turn to alcohol to cope with it. But this can be really risky as it ends up being a very trigger of what you are trying to get out of. When you drink alcohol on a regular basis, you are also possibly opening yourself up to other complications in terms of health and personal life such as loss of employment, impacting relationships, etc. Claims that you can drink alcohol in moderation as it will not impact your body are false as even a little bit of alcohol could lead to development of cancer.

2. Refined foods
Convenience foods is a thing today as we hardly have the time to cook and balance our personal and professional lives. Any form of junk or fast food ends up being high in calorie intake but barely contain any nutrients that are essential for your body’s normal functioning. According to studies, those who consume high amounts of refined foods end up having higher bouts of depression than those who stick to a fresh and healthy diet. When you consume processed food, you temporarily give your body an energy boost before allowing it to crash beyond normal. A classic example is chocolate bars. When you eat them you feel good for a while before hitting a low spot.

3. Processed oils
One of the major causes of inflammation is refined and saturated fats. They end up not only impacting your depression but can also impair your brain. You need to consciously avoid any form of trans fats that are present in all types of processed foods, saturated fats that are present in both processed and red meats, and also oils that have Omega-6 fatty acids like corn and safflower oils.

This is just the beginning of what you need to be avoiding when it comes to depression. You also need to start a food journal and identify the foods that impact you on a very direct level and try to stay off them.