A new study published in the journal Diabetologia points to a link between certain prescription antidepressants and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

A study published in the current issue of the journal, Physiology and Behavior, suggests that our predisposition towards high salt diets may actually be a coping mechanism for dealing with stress, depression and anxiety.

Individuals who screen positive for possible depression appear to consume more chocolate than those who screen negative, according to a report in the April 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Those who screened positive consumed an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate per month, compared with 5.4 servings per month among those who screened negative, according to researcher Natalie Rose, MD, and colleagues at the University of California, Davis, and University of California, San Diego.

Those with probable major depression consumed even more chocolate: 11.8 servings per month. 

“Depression could stimulate chocolate cravings as ‘self-treatment’ if chocolate confers mood benefits, as has been suggested in recent studies of rats,” the researchers write. “Second, depression may stimulate chocolate cravings for unrelated reasons.”

Conversely, it’s also possible that chocolate consumption could actually contribute to depressed mood.

A physiological factor like inflammation could drive both depression and chocolate cravings, or more complex relationships may exist, the researchers add.

“Future studies are required to elucidate the foundation of the association and to determine whether chocolate has a role in depression, as cause or cure,” the authors conclude.

Whole Foods is deeply committed to the concept of community, something I also support via my Green Club.  Surrounding yourself with like-minded people offers strength and reinforcement for whatever goals you hope to achieve.

In that vein, Whole Foods offers all sorts of super helpful free tips and tools with their Be Good to Your Whole Body series.  Their Healthy Mood brochure is particularly interesting, harkening back to the old adage ‘you are what you eat.’ While depression is a very real condition and cannot be ‘fixed’ by diet alone, there’s definitely a link between what you eat and your outlook on life.

Here are some of my favorite tips from Whole Foods’ Healthy Mood brochure:

• Keep blood sugar in check: healthy diets should include sufficient protein, fiber, antioxidants and healthy fats (another vital Green Club tenet)
• Drink tea daily: green, black and certain herbal teas have all been linked to happier states of mind
• Enjoy low-glycemic foods which may be associated with a healthy mood
• Support your adrenal glands: they’re the manufacturers and gatekeepers of stress hormones; chronic stress overworks them (start by never allowing yourself to get too hungry)
• Provide your body with a steady supply of mood-enhancing and stabilizing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients including 5-HTP, adaptogens, Vitamin B, essential fatty acids, ginkgo, iron, l-theanine, passionflower, SAMe, St. John’s Wort, Valerian and Vitamin D.

Other top tips for a healthy mood include acupuncture, massages using real essential oils and yoga, breathing and meditation.

What nutrition or fitness tips do you tap into to keep your mood elevated?  Let us know – we love hearing from you!

Raising daughters? Then you’re all too familiar with their fixation with belly-baring pop stars and body image. You can certainly provide reassurance and help them eat nutritious organic food. But if your daughter becomes depressed, she may be at risk of developing a higher body mass index (BMI)—the measurement doctors use to determine obesity.

According to a study in this month’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, depression and anxiety disorders during childhood may be associated with a higher BMI into adulthood for women (but not men). The increasing prevalence of obesity among children and adults has become a public health crisis. Understanding the social and psychological conditions associated with obesity could help predict which children and adolescents are likely to become obese adults—something that will help physicians target treatment and prevention efforts. Previous evidence suggests psychological disorders may be one factor associated with weight gain, but studies have been limited.

Sarah E. Anderson, MS, and her colleagues at Tufts University in Boston recently evaluated the association between anxiety disorders/depression and weight gain from childhood into adulthood. The 820 individuals (403 women, 417 men—ages 9 to 18 at the beginning of the study, 28 to 40 at their most recent evaluation) were assessed four times between 1983 and 2003. At each assessment, researchers interviewed participants to determine whether they met clinical criteria for anxiety disorders or depression. The authors calculated BMI, adjusting it for age and gender based on national reference data.

During the study, 310 participants (119 men, 191 women) had anxiety disorders, and 148 (50 men, 98 women) were depressed. Women with anxiety disorders and depression had a significantly higher BMI. The earlier the onset of depression, the higher the woman’s adult weight. “An average-height woman diagnosed with depression at age 14 would weigh about 10 to 16 pounds more than a non-depressed woman by the time both reached age 30 years,” the authors write.

Depression during childhood was associated with an initially lower BMI among boys, but the weight difference in depressed and non-depressed men disappeared over time. Anxiety disorders did not appear to be linked to men’s BMIs at any point throughout the study.

Treating anxiety and depression in girls and women may be one strategy in the battle against obesity, the authors conclude. If your child or teenager is depressed, be sure to seek counseling.