Food choices are a direct way to predict a person’s mood. What one decides to eat can influence their mental state and wellbeing. Just like mood affects one’s food choices, food also affects the mood. This is to say, what one chooses to eat when they’re down can boost their mental health or leave them curled up. To avoid feeling worse when already low, here’s a list of foods to avoid for keeping depression at bay:

Sugary foods

Sugary foods are a favorite among many. The temptation of relishing cakes, cookies, colas, and candies is too hard to resist, but resist one must! Sugar is a known inflammatory agent and is also linked to negative effects on the neurons. Sugar, undoubtedly, provides an instant mood boost, but this is temporary. In fact, as soon as the blood glucose levels drop—or should we say plummet?—the mood hits a low too, resulting in an increased feeling of both physical and mental exhaustion. Sugar is one of the most common things on the list of foods to avoid for managing or preventing depression.

Processed goods

Another entrant in the list of the “foods to avoid for managing depression” is processed and packaged food. This food group includes everything from the big bag of chips to the bread and pasta everyone is so fond of. It has been observed that people on whole-food diets are less likely to experience depression as opposed to those who’ve been making their way through packaged food. Store-bought foods contain high levels of salts and sugars, both of which can cause inflammation in the brain and lead to depression. Like sugar, processed food is also responsible for the instant feeling of happiness, but it soon ebbs away and makes way for fatigue.

Foods with trans fats

Trans fats are a commonly found compound in food prepared in hydrogenated oil. This includes the fried cheese sticks, chicken wings, french fries, and all the extra greasy foods many of us love to binge on. Found in most fast foods, trans fats are known to aggravate depressive symptoms. This can be easily avoided by swapping the burgers and pizzas with healthier salads and sandwiches. Not only are trans fatty foods best avoided for managing depression, but they are also responsible for clogging up the arteries and leading to heart-related complications and are well-known for their contribution to obesity.

Alcohol

One doesn’t need to be a genius to know that alcohol is related to mental health issues. It is a common piece of knowledge, but it is just as commonly overlooked. Alcohol has an undesirable effect on the central nervous system and renders it incapable of performing its basic functions. It gives rise to depressive episodes or even contributes to worsening an already poor mental state. Some people living with depression eventually become alcohol dependent as they turn to drinks to cope with the symptoms, which only makes it difficult to deal with the condition and adds to their problems.