Beat The Winter Blues With These Top 9 Tips

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s believed to be caused by the changing seasons. Typically, symptoms begin to worsen around fall and peak during the winter months. Symptoms of SAD are similar to other forms of depression, including feelings of hopelessness, lack of concentration, social withdrawal, and fatigue. I've put together some of the best proven tips to help beat the winter blues:

1. Water

Water is extremely important for our bodies to function properly – and even the smallest degree of water loss can impair our physical and mental wellbeing. When we're dehydrated, it can really affect our ability to concentrate as well as contribute to anxiety and depression.

How much do you need? Experts recommend 2-3L of water a day. But if you're not that keen, remember non caffeinated herbal teas and green juices count towards that goal. Try starting the day with a mug of freshly boiled water and a slice of lemon, or add a fresh sprig of mint, cucumber or strawberries to a jug of cold water to jazz it up.

Check out my article for Savoir Flair on how to drink more water here.

2. Omega-3

We've known for a few years that people who eat a diet rich in fish are less likely to be depressed. But new research shows that one nutrient in fish might actually be more effective against depression than traditional antidepressants. The nutrient is an omega-3 fatty acid called EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).

British scientists gave a group of patients with stubborn depression a daily dose of EPA. After three months, over two thirds of the group reported a 50% reduction in their symptoms—particularly feelings of sadness and pessimism, inability to work, sleeplessness and low libido. All of the patients had previously tried other medications, including Prozac, other SSRIs and tricyclic antidepressants, the researchers reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

"This is one of the largest potential associations of a nutrient with depression," says Joseph Hibbeln, M.D., a psychiatrist at the National Institutes of Health who has pioneered research into the diet-depression link. "The important issue in this study is that the omega-3 worked above and beyond the antidepressants."

Healthy brains and nerve cells depend on omega-3s because the nervous system is made mostly of fat. The signals that travel through our flesh—feelings, thoughts, commands to our bodies—skip along cells and their arms sheathed in fat.

But not just any fat. Omega-3 essential fatty acids are one of the basic building blocks of the brain. Brain cell membranes are about 20 percent fatty acids and they seem to be crucial for keeping brain signals moving smoothly. Doctors call this class of fat "essential" because, unlike many nutrients, our bodies cannot produce it. We can get it only from very specific parts of our diets.

Found in seafood, also in walnuts, leafy greens and flaxseed, omega-3s are polyunsaturated fats that also protect against cancer and promote cardiovascular health. They may explain why heart disease and depression often occur together.

Foods rich in Omega-3 include: SMASH - a great acronym to remember for oily fish rich in omega 3's: Sardines, Mackerel, Anchovies, wild Salmon and Herring. Cold pressed flaxseed oil, chia seeds, walnuts, oysters, fish roe (caviar - always check the ingredients label as a lot of brands will add unnatural preservatives and artificial colourings).

3. Berries

Stress aggravates depression symptoms and exhausts your body. Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries may help prevent the release of cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal gland. During stressful situations, cortisol heads towards your hippocampus, a major portion of the brain that stores memories, provides emotional responses, and navigation. Keep berries in your bag to combat stress when it hits or go for one of my favourites: Pure Synergy's Berry Power - add 1-2 tsp in your smoothies, juice of choice, coconut water or water daily for a boost of freeze dried organically grown berries from around the world that are super high in antioxidants, great for your mood, heart, skin and hair.

4. Limit Sugar Intake

If you start looking at the ingredients of food labels, you’ll notice various forms of sugar. They’ll appear as syrups or words that end in“-ose.”

Sugar may give you a little happy-feely boost at first, but research from UCLA suggests that too much sugar and too few omega-3 fatty acids can functionally change your brain and slow it down. Research on how the brain works is always ongoing. But it’s a safe bet to stay away from sugar — especially if you’re feeling depressed. The crash after a sugar high can easily make you feel worse than before.

Instead go for complex carbohydrates for healthy energy boosts such as: berries, apples, pears, kiwi, bananas, oranges, pomegranate, brown rice, pumpkin, sweet potato, beetroot, parsnips.

5. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is unique among vitamins; you can synthesise it in your skin as well as absorb it from foods or supplements. To complicate things further, vitamin D also comes in two forms: D2 and D3. Your skin synthesises vitamin D3, also called cholecalciferol; you can also take D3 in supplement form. A few foods also contain D3. Increasing your dietary intake, spending more time in the sun or taking supplements can all help raise your D3 level. Spending as little as 5 to 30 minutes in direct sunlight with your face, arms, legs or back exposed two times a week between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the summer, fall and spring can synthesise enough vitamin D3 to supply your needs, this is why light therapy is an important treatment for SAD. Your body can store excess vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin, in your fat stores and liver, for use during the winter, but stores generally last just 30 to 60 days.

Very few foods naturally supply vitamin D: Beef liver, cheese, egg yolks and fatty fish, which contain small amounts of D3, are the best dietary sources of D3. Mushrooms supply D2 to your diet.

Over-the-counter and prescription supplements can increase your vitamin D3 intake but it is important to speak with your health professional or practitioner beforehand for dosage levels as too much vitamin D over a period of time can be toxic to your body.

6. Dark Chocolate

Chocolate has always been a tasty and good way to self-medicate through down times. But a Hershey’s bar or pint of chocolate ice cream isn’t the best way to do it.

Participants in one study were given a dark chocolate mixed drink every day for a month. Results showed significantly improved mood, which researchers linked with a high polyphenol content. Polyphenols are a type of antioxidant.

When you're feeling down, pick up a bar with the highest cocoa content you can find. Over 70% cacao is the way to go. Here is one of my favourites (vegan, dairy free, gluten free, no refined sugars) - Ombar.

7. Tryptophan

One of the things often overlooked when people are trying to improve their overall health, have more energy, lose weight and sleep better is the importance of obtaining enough amino acids from different protein foods. Amino acids, including tryptophan, are the “building blocks of proteins,” and without a wide enough array of them in our diets, we actually can’t even survive, let alone thrive.

We must get all the essential amino acids (like tryptophan, histidine, leucine and lysine, for example) through our diets since we can’t create on them on our own, but even other nonessential amino acids have many critical roles in the body. Essential amino acids help the body produce the kinds that are nonessential, and together they’re important for building and repairing muscle tissue, helping with neurotransmitter functions, supplying the brain with enough energy, and balancing blood sugar levels, for example.

Of these amino acids, tryptophan plays an important role. So what is tryptophan, and why do we need it? That’s what we’re about to find out.

Tryptophan (also called L-tryprophan) is an essential amino acid that acts like a natural mood regulator, since it has the ability to help the body produce and balance certain hormones naturally. Supplementing with tryptophan-rich foods or taking supplements helps bring on natural calming effects, induces sleep, fights anxiety and can also help burn more body fat. Tryptophan has also been found to stimulate the release of growth hormones and even reduce food cravings for carbohydrates and help kick a sugar addiction in some cases.

An important byproduct of tryptophan is 5HTP (5-hyrdoxytryptophan), which works in the brain and central nervous system to boost feelings of well-being, connection and safety. It does this by increasing production of one of the body’s main feel-good hormones, serotonin. (1) Serotonin is the same calming chemical released when we eat certain comfort foods like carbohydrates, which is why supplementing with tryptophan has been shown to help control appetite and contribute to easier weight loss or maintenance.

Foods rich in Tryptophan include: cage-free eggs (especially the whites), spirulina, wild-caught fish like cod and salmon, pasture-raised poultry (including turkey, which is well-known for inducing sound sleep, organic / ideally raw dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, cottage cheese or raw cheese sesame seeds, cashews and walnuts, grass-fed beef or lamb, 100 percent whole grain oats, brown rice, corn or quinoa, beans/legumes, including chickpeas and green peas, potatoes, bananas.

Tryptophan can also be taken in a supplement form. According to the University of Michigan Health Department, the dosages below are general guidelines for supplementing with tryptophan based on your goals:

for sleep disorders/insomnia: 1–2 grams taken at bedtime

for chronic pain or migraines: 2–4 grams per day in divided doses

for treating PMS or PMDD: 2–4 grams daily

for helping to alleviate depression or anxiety: 2–6 grams daily (it’s best to work with a doctor)

for lowering appetite and cravings: 0.5–2 grams daily

Dietary changes should never be a replacement for medication or therapy, but they can supplement your current treatments. Discuss these or any other therapies with your doctor/health professional and see which are best for you.

8. Exercise!!

When you have anxiety or depression, exercise often seems like the last thing you want to do. But once you get motivated, exercise can make a big difference.

Exercise helps prevent and improve a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis. Research on anxiety, depression and exercise shows that the psychological and physical benefits of exercise can also help reduce anxiety and improve mood. Regular exercise probably helps ease depression in a number of ways, which may include:

- Releasing feel-good brain chemicals that may ease depression (neurotransmitters, endorphins and endocannabinoids)

- Reducing immune system chemicals that can worsen depression

- Increasing body temperature, which may have calming effects

Regular exercise has many psychological and emotional benefits, too. It can help you:

- Gain confidence. Meeting exercise goals or challenges, even small ones, can boost your self-confidence.

- Getting in shape can also make you feel better about your appearance.

- Take your mind off worries. Exercise is a distraction that can get you away from the cycle of negative thoughts that feed anxiety and depression.

- Get more social interaction. Exercise and physical activity may give you the chance to meet or socialise with others. Just exchanging a friendly smile or greeting as you walk around your neighbourhood can help your mood.

- Cope in a healthy way. Doing something positive to manage anxiety or depression is a healthy coping strategy. Trying to feel better by drinking alcohol, dwelling on how badly you feel, or hoping anxiety or depression will go away on its own can lead to worsening symptoms.

Choose an exercise you enjoy and remember to have fun whilst doing it! Don't be hard on yourself, don't compare yourself to anyone else, go at your own pace and do it because you Love you and your body, not because you hate it.

9. Playtime & Nature

Spending time outdoors in nature and with loved ones, remembering to play, laugh and not take laugh so seriously can have instant uplifting benefits to your mood. Going for a nice walk and taking the time to breathe, appreciate life and all its beauty can also help to stop the negative conversations in our heads. Dancing, moving around and playing with animals or children can help us to let go, play, be silly, be ourselves and to relax. If it makes you happy and it's not harming anyone, then do it!

Sources

http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/10-food-tips-help-ease-winter-blues#12

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-eating/a25845/11-mood-boosting-foods/

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/raise-vitamin-d3-level-3561.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200301/omega-3s-boosting-mood

https://draxe.com/tryptophan/

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495

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