The food that helps you break free from the junk food blues

When I’m feeling down, the first thing I reach for is a bag of potato chips. Maybe you do, too. Or maybe you reach for a box of cookies. Or take a trip through the drive-thru.

Whatever comfort food you choose, you’re caught in a vicious cycle I call the junk food blues. Depression makes you want junk food. But research shows that junk food makes you more depressed. So, you just keep digging yourself deeper and deeper.

Now, there’s one type of food that drives the junk food blues more than any other — fast food. Luckily, there’s another food that can turn the junk food blues around… and maybe even keep it away for good.

The connection between fast food, fish and depression

A recent study from researchers at James Cook University researchers in Australia found that two foods make the biggest difference in your depression risk: fast food and fish.

The study looked at the link between depression and diet for people who lived on Torres Strait island (where people have access to fast food) and another island (where they don’t).

Researchers spoke to 100 people from each island. About 19 of these people had moderate to severe depression. Almost all of them were from the island with fast food. Sixteen of the people with depression came from Torres Strait island, while only three came from the other island.

Now, the people from the island with less depression ate far less fast food (because there wasn’t any around) and far more fish. And researchers think this could be the secret to preventing and even treating depression. Why?

Well, it all comes down to the fatty acids found in each food. Researchers took blood samples from people in the study. And the people who were eating more fish and less fast food had more omega-3 fatty acids in their blood and less omega 6 fatty acids. People who ate lots of fast food, on the other hand, had more omega-6.

Ideally, your omega 3 and omega 6 should be balanced. Traditional cultures do this well. They’re usually eating a 1:1 ratio of omega-6 and omega-3. Industrialized Western cultures, however, are way out of whack. The ratio in those cultures is more like 20:1 because processed food is high in omega-6.

Keep your fats in balance for a happier brain

So, you might want to take a closer look at the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in your diet. Are you getting a lot more omega-6?

I can tell you right now that if you’re eating processed foods daily, you’re probably getting too much. Processed foods contain lots of vegetable oils that are high in omega-6, like safflower oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, and others.

Omega 3 is found in foods like fish, eggs, walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseeds. If you’re eating plenty of these, your fatty acid ratio (and mood) is much more likely to be in balance.

But if analyzing your entire diet feels too daunting, keep it simple and make two changes…

Eat less fast food and more fish. Based on this study, these simple changes alone might be enough to keep the junk food blues at bay.