Baked Macaroni and cheese, oatmeal cookies, fried chicken, fried fish, butter pecan ice cream – listed are some foods that we as women and some men turn to when we are depressed or stressed over different things in our lives.

The foods listed only sooth our feelings for a moment and then we are back where we started. If we eat too much of a certain type of food or avoid eating another type of food, it can have an effect on our mood in the long and short term.

Instead of reaching for that cookie or fried chicken, reach for an apple or pear and spread some peanut butter on it. Eating this type of food will have a lasting effect because it is healthy and good for the body. Normally, after we eat something that is not healthy or good for us, we become depressed and regret eating the food or so much of the food. We have just added another stress factor to our lives.

When we select foods that are healthy and nutritious for us, we add strength to our brains and enhance our emotional health.

Skipping meals or going on fad diets can increase your chance of depression leading to stress or other issues in life. Diets don’t work, they only help for a moment and then the weight comes back. If changing the lifestyle or eating habits is not an option, overcoming stress and depression will linger.

Resource: www.healthywomen.org