Nutrition and Depression
Nagihan Yılmaz1, Hatice Özyürek1, Nazlı Çetin1, Berzah Güneş1, Oytun Erbaş1,2
1ERBAS Institute of Experimental Medicine, Illinois, USA & Gebze, Turkey
2Department of Physiology, Medical Faculty of Demiroğlu Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey
Keywords: Depression, diet, nutrition, obesity
Abstract
In the treatment of psychiatric illnesses such as depression and anxiety, pharmacological and psychotherapy approaches, such as certain antidepressants, are also usually applied. The fact that pharmacological methods have certain side effects has prompted researchers to look at alternative treatment options for depression. Nutritional oxidative stress, which has been proven by studies that can be used in the prevention and treatment of depression, can affect cognitive functions through mechanisms such as inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetics, intestinal microbiota, obesity, tryptophan metabolism, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) and adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN). This review focuses on pathways associated with depression and nutrients, nutrients, and dietary models that can affect cognitive function. Long-term and large-cohort research is required to reveal different mechanisms and to fully understand the relationship between nutrition and depression.
Cite this article as: Yılmaz N, Özyürek H, Çetin N, Güneş B, Erbaş O. Nutrition and Depression. JEB Med Sci 2021;2(2):147-157.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.