ampolion
16.02.05, 21:23
5 Foods That Make You Happy
Natural substances found in certain foods work as well as prescription
antidepressants at preventing depression and making you feel happy, according
to researchers from Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass.
Those natural substances are omega-3 fatty acids and uridine, and in
experiments with rats, they were just as effective as three different
prescription antidepressants in preventing signs of depression, reports
HealthDayNews. In other words, eat these foods and you'll be happier.
The top five foods rich in these substances are:
1. Salmon
2. Herring
3. Walnuts
4. Sugar beets
5. Beet molasses
The study used a well-established animal model of depression. The rats were
placed in a tank of water where they were forced to swim. They soon realized
that swimming was futile, so they just gave up and floated, a sign that they
were surrendering to depression. When the rats were given an injection of an
antidepressant drug or combined doses of omega-3 fatty acids and uridine, they
started swimming again. Interestingly, the latter was just as effective as
three different prescription antidepressants--Norpramin, Prozac, and
Celexa--in prompting the rats to begin swimming again.
Prescription medication for depression and foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids
and uridine probably work the same way to ease depression, according to study
leader William Carlezon, director of McLean's Behavioral Genetics Laboratory.
"Mitochondria produce energy for brain cells," he explained to HealthDayNews.
"Imagine what happens if your brain does not have enough energy. Basically, we
were giving the brain more fuel on which to run."
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in abundance in certain types of fish, including
salmon, herring, and tuna, as well as walnuts and flaxseed. Uridine is found
in sugar beets and molasses made from those beets; it's also an important
element in mother's milk.
The study findings were published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
