Eating The Right Food Could Even Help Treat Depression

We all know how horrible we feel after we eat too much or eat crap food or eat too much crap food. But a recent study points out that the opposite may be true: Eating the right foods could help us feel better, even helping combat with conditions like depression.

CNN reported recently on a small study at Deakin University's Food And Mood Centre, which involved people "who were taking antidepressants and/or were in regular psychotherapy." Of the 67 subjects, half were given a healthy diet "focusing on extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, eggs, fruits, vegetables, fatty fish and grass-fed beef," while the other half continued to eat their typical diet.

Three months later, a significant number of the healthy diet group reported an improvement in their conditions; in fact, "32 had achieved scores so low that they no longer met criteria for depression." CNN also offers a slideshow of specific examples of what foods can affect what conditions, like zinc in cashews that can help treat anxiety, or antioxidants in blueberries that can help reduce stress.

Like lots of these studies indicate, the simple fact remains that eating good foods is good for you. The problem is that so many of those other foods (like Shake Shack burgers) are so delicious. But this study is a good reminder of what to keep shooting for, diet-wise, on a non-Shake Shack day.