The Martlet

With many drab days in the forecast, it turns out students can help beat back the second semester blues with one simple move: altering their diets.

“Our bodies are not built to sit in front of a TV or in the classroom all day,” said Sara Wegwitz, an outreach nurse at UVic Health Services. “To stave away the blues, eat lots of good fruits and vegetables — and fresh fibre. Drink lots of water, get outside and start moving everyday.”

Depression is typically thought of as strictly emotional, according to the article “Depression and Nutrition” by Bonnie Beardsly, a licensed dietician and nutritionist. Nevertheless, nutrition can play a key role in the onset, severity and duration of depression, including daily mood swings.

Many of the same food patterns that precede depression are the same food patterns that occur during depression.

These patterns may include skipping meals, poor appetite and a desire for sugary sweets. People who follow particularly low carbohydrate diets also run the risk of feeling depressed or blue, because the brain chemicals that promote a feeling of well-being, tryptophan and serotonin, are triggered by carbohydrate rich foods, states the article.

Our bodies tend to crave carbs and “feel-good foods” when we’re feeling down in the dumps, says Wegwitz, noting that chocolate is one such outstanding example. Refined carbohydrates (primarily sugar and sugary foods) tend to provide immediate, but temporary, relief from dark moods.

Once the benefit is gone, however, you may go looking for more foods to bring up your mood and energy level.

Complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, cereals, breads, pastas and fruits and vegetables, are more likely to supply a moderate, but lasting effect on brain chemistry, mood and energy level.

Wegwitz also says that when students complain of tiredness and loss of energy, it is often directly linked to dehydration — having plenty of water at hand can you keep alert and energized.

“Not eating well results in not feeling good about yourself and perpetuates feelings of sadness,” she said.

Nutrition affects all lifestyle diseases and we need to be eating more foods that are genetically congruent with how we’ve been built — such as fruits and vegetables, and fatty acids and omega-3s from fish.

“You can overcome any kind of illness if you choose to be healthy and well. Changing your diet can have a significant impact on your clarity of mind,” Wegwitz said.

It’s hard to be sick and stressed, but it’s easy to control your diet, says Wegwitz. It requires a shifting of framework, like adding an apple to your breakfast in the morning.

Pointers for students and people who are always on the run include planning ahead while doing your grocery shopping and getting portable healthy snacks like bananas or pears, or even almonds, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts — which contain healthy fats that boost your energy.

“If you want to be successful, give yourself the upper advantage by planning your meals ahead of time,” she said.

Incorporating exercise into every day, like a walk around Ring Road while on a break or getting off the bus two stops early, is the best way to keep the blues away. It helps with stress levels, and it keeps you healthy.

“Taking part in intramurals is also a good way to keep engaged with people,” said Wegwitz. “The most important thing to do is have fun and laugh often.”

According to Wegwitz, kids under the age of five laugh on average of 300 to 400 times a day, whereas adults on average only laugh 15 to 20 times. She believes that it is important to not take things too seriously.

When it comes to changing your diet and following a healthy lifestyle, she has one important pointer.

“Start now,” she said, “and the better prepared you’ll be in the long run with situations that arise in adulthood.”