Vegetarianism and depression

[galmal]

Has anyone seen a correlation between becoming a vegetarian and depression symptoms getting better. I'm bipolar, and have been for almost 30 years. I deal mostly with depressive episodes, and have tried just about every medication out there, to no avail. I have noticed with I eat clean (but with meat), I do feel somewhat better. So, I was wondering if going without meat would make a positive difference?

Anyone have any experience with this? I would love to hear what you have to say.

 

[thegrey1]

I don't have any clinical studies to back me up but my theory is, indeed it might make a difference in your mental health. So many mental health issues are caused by chemical imbalances in our systems. Since we have no earthly idea what sort of hormones and chemicals have been added to meat products over the last few decades, who's to say it couldn't affect a lot of people adversely? I'd give it a try.

 

[kim1984]

I have heard this from a lot of people adopting a vegan or vegetarian diet. I guess when we are conscious of what we are fueling our bodies with, there are positive consequences that come from it. I'm eating a vegan diet about 5 days out of 7 right now, and I'm definitely feeling better overall. As well as feeling better physically, I find there's a mental clarity and peacefulness now that wasn't necessarily there before. That old saying "you are what you eat" rings true to me with this lifestyle!

 

[Connie]

Perhaps you need to be looking at your diet a lot more closely than you are currently. Without knowing what you eat, it is really easy to make sweeping generalisations but a lot of people who come to a vegetarian lifestyle rely heavily on dairy products, milk, butter and cheese, and these are known to cause all sorts of issues such as problems with sinuses, tiny noses, throat infections and general stuffiness from their tenancy to cause the body to create extra mucus.

If your dairy is coming from the cheapest source possible you will have no idea what antibiotics, steroids and other crap the cows have been fed or injected with which are approved and accepted as acceptable and pass the relevant food industry standards. Just because it is 'fine' for the rest of the population doesn't mean it is fine foot your body - I can no longer tolerate dairy at all. My body finally said no and with it I changed from being vegetarian to bring vegan.

My thoughts are along the lines that when following a meat diet you are eating less dairy products. When you follow a vegetarian diet, you could be relying on dairy in the form of cheese usually as a substitute and hence inadvertently increasing your exposure to something that is making you more unstable/causing depression.

But it is just a theory.

 

[galmal]

Thanks for the answers. As I thought, a vegetarian diet, even it it's only a few days a week might indeed help. It would at least make me more aware of what I'm eating. At this point, it certainly couldn't hurt. As far as dairy products, I'm not a big fan of things like cheese and milk, so don't eat them much. I do like a glass of milk after exercising - it seems to help me recover better, and is much more refreshing and thirsty-quenching than plain water.

I'll try it for a while and see what happens. I'll ask my doctor at my next appointment. I'll let you all know if it seems to help.

 

[felielizab]

I try to eat clean as well and have dealt with depression pretty much all my life. I have noticed that when I slack off with my eating habits that my depression does tend to rear it's ugly head. So maybe there is a correlation. I know I feel better, not only physically but mentally, when I don't consume as much meat. I still get and give into my cravings sometimes, though.

 

[Andy_T]

What can I say ... my take on this is, once animals do matter to you morally, that is to say, that you do not buy anymore into the convenient lie that "they're just animals, there for us to use" ... and you see how they are treated day-in, day-out, then it is hard not to become depressed.

Still, we have to keep our optimism!

Best regards,
Andy

 

[NanouHammie]

I began to drink organic Apple cider vinegar with honey and water a few months ago and it has helped me very well mentally as well as taken the bloat out of my belly and given relief to Asthma symptoms. This is something I encourage everyone to research!

 

[Andy_T]

Apple cider vinegar is wonderful, and I am sure there are alternatives to the honey.

 

[NanouHammie]

Honey is good for digestion, organic honey is better for the drink. some people add cinnamon and lemon as well. This drink really kick starts the system just affectively as coffee in a way.

 

[mothwings]

I'm glad changing your diet has helped you. People don't seem to understand how hard it is to cope with mental illness.

As for me, maybe it's because I've been a vegetarian since I was little that I've never considered veganism as a cure for depression.

 

[Josie]

When I eat certain processed foods, my mood drops drastically.. I get that all familiar fog and feel emotionally drained. I hardly noticed it when it was my typical diet. You don't really appreciate the impact food has on you until you go clean for a long time and attempt to go back. We are not meant to eat that way.. I don't care if we can live till we're 100 on a typical diet, we will NOT be the best versions of ourselves, it does affect your brain and every other aspect of your body and being. You can't just throw any old thing into an organic body and expect it to thrive. Live, yes.. thrive, no. Would you give coke to a plant? Feed a cat chips every day? Our bodies change every day and they change based on what we put in it.. our food is our life line.. our building blocks. How could anyone question if it affects our moods when our brains have been built on unhealthy food lookalikes? So many foods people eat today were invented in our life times.. and look what most of us has become in that time. Depressed, obese, sick and dying. Yes, absolutely, changing your diet will help immensely.

 

[Alexia]

I don't see the correlation as depression is an illness that many vegans and vegetarians also suffer from. Maybe it can help from a placebo effect, but scientifically I doubt it can ever be proven.

While fresh food is preferable, you can't prove a diet of fresh food will cure depression. There are other triggers like the environment and relationships that have nothing to do with diet.

 

[CrowdedHighways]

I was hospitalized for depression when I was eating meat very minimally, and my doctors practically forced me to eat meat. My mental state improved(although I do not think there was a direct correlation between eating meat and feeling better, I was in treatment, after all), and, when I quit the hospital, I also quit eating meat at all, and I have not been feeling any worse.

 

[InvalidArmadillo]

I haven't seen a change for me. My symptoms come and go seemingly unrelated to food. I think it's possible that switching to vegetarianism could help certain people's depression because you can see it as making a positive change in your life which can make you feel better. The thing about depression, and a lot of mental health problems in general, is there isn't necessarily a one-sized-fits-all approach. You have to figure out what will work for you, which may not work for me. That's why I think it's possible that some are helped by going vegetarian, while others may not be.

 

[Andy_T]

I must say, seeing how animals are treated in our society, certainly is enough to make you depressed, when you do not "consume the fruits' of that treatment.

 

[Josie]

As a cause.. no.. it just doesn't help. Depression is something only you can fix. No food or even drug will be what does it..

 

[Sally]

I feel so much happier, sleep better and so have more energy when I cut sugar out of my diet.

 

[winter.frost]

Yes I have noticed that eating more fresh fruit, in particular, quite literally appears to boost and stabilise my mood. Even the Mental Health Foundation recognises this correlation.

 

[Lunakid]

I think greens, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and juices could help you ) they are full of vitamins..