Nutrition and Childhood Depression: What You Need to Know

From eating a healthy diet to indulging them in physical activities, it is the key responsibility of the parent to ensure the overall growth of their children. Having good nutrition not only helps in the overall rapid growth and development of your children but also helps in their mental health. Poor nutrition in early childhood can lead to an increased risk of obesity, coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, or childhood depression. Henceforth, having a well-balanced dietary plan is necessary for the child’s mental, physical and socio-emotional growth.

If you are still wondering how a well-balanced healthy diet impacts the child’s mental health, read this blog post. In this guide, we will talk about nutrition and its impact on your child’s mental health.

What Do You Mean by Childhood Depression?

It is normal for the kids to feel depressed, sad, or in a bad mood at some times. But, when it lasts for longer, it might be a reason to worry for the parents. Childhood Depression is different from a kid having the moody nature. Depression in children is the same as depression in adults/individuals, but they have a hard time explaining it due to their limited emotional vocabulary. Childhood depression may be a result of the combination of stressful events, poor physical health, biochemical imbalance, family history or poor mental health.

What are the Symptoms of Depression in Children?

Depression in children can look different from one child to another. If your child is suffering from depressive disorders, they will show the following signs.

• Lack of Energy and Efforts: Depression in children will withdraw the energy in the children. They will put less efforts in performing the activities than before. Even a small task can take too much effort. They got tired very easily and will not enjoy performing things.
• Self-Critical: Children with depression will complain a lot about things. Moreover, they will start saying self-critical things, such as “It is too hard for me”. Moreover, you might hear your child saying bad things about themselves.
• Aches and Pain: Some kids will start complaining about having stomach aches or pain in other parts of their body due to depressive disorders. They tend to develop the habit of missing the school.
• Not enjoying Things: Depression in children will snatch away the enthusiasm in children. These kids will not have as much fun as before and will not enjoy the things.
• Sleep and Eating Changes: Childhood depression will change the sleeping and eating patterns in children. They will always feel tired even after having had enough sleep or not sleeping. Moreover, they did not enjoy eating.
• Bad Mood: The child will always be in the bad, sad or grouchy mood. It might last for month or for weeks. Parents can witness more tantrums of their kid than ever before.

It is not necessary that all children show the same symptoms of depression. Most of the symptoms change from time to time.

Mental Health and Nutrition: Is There a Link Between Two?

It is true that what your child eats impacts his/her mental health. Our body needs different nutrients such as vitamins, essential fats, amino acids for the proper functioning of our brain. The best way to get these essentials is consuming a varied healthy diet. A healthy diet plan full of fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy products, whole grain, antioxidants, reduces the risk of depression in children. A healthier dietary plan elevates the mood.

The relation between the healthy diet and the mental health is not as complex as you think. Several research shows that what we eat and how we feel are both interrelated. Several research shows that a healthy diet and physical activities, plays a vital role in the development of mental health. Having a well-balanced healthy diet is as important to psychiatry as it to endocrinology, cardiology, and gastroenterology.

Foods that Make You Healthy: What to Eat?

In order to function properly, your body needs a variety of carbohydrates, protein, fatty acids and other essential items. Below, we have a quick overview of what you should have in your plate.

• Carbohydrates: You must include millet, Quinoa, sweet potatoes, beets, brown rice and starchy vegetables in your diet as they have high nutritional value and will give you energy. It will keep you fulfilled for a longer period of time.
• Protein: Chicken, fish, meat, soybeans, eggs, nuts and seeds are the good source of protein. The lean protein allows you to think quickly. It helps in the development of skin, muscles and bones. For vegetarians, dairy products are a good source of protein. Always fill a quarter of your plate with protein food.
• Fatty Acids: Having the essential fatty acids is necessary for the proper functioning of your brain and nervous system that can be find them in meat, fish, nuts, flaxseeds, nuts.
• Fibre: Plant based foods are rich in fiber that helps your body to absorb glucose. This helps you in avoiding sugar.
• Whole Foods: Choose whole grain food such as oatmeal, Hulley barely, rice, Quinoa that have fibre, vitamin B, protein. Avoid choosing the refined or the processed grain like pasta, white bread.
• Drink a Lot of Water: Water hydrates your body without adding calories to your diet.

The Nutritional Psychiatrist suggests that having a well-balanced healthy diet is necessary for having a stable mental and emotional health.

What Foods are Good for Treating Depression in Children?

Depression treatment often involves therapy and counselling for depression. Some children may benefit from one, while others might need a combination. In addition to this, having a well-balanced, healthy diet will also help in overcoming the symptoms of depression. When people feel depressed, they often reach for comfort food.

As such, there is no specific diet that helps in overcoming the depression symptoms. However, having a well-balanced diet that is full of macronutrients and micronutrients helps in overcoming this.

The food that is good for treating depression in children includes:

• Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids
• Tryptophan
• Phenylalanine:
• Magnesium, selenium, and zinc
• Vitamin D, C, B, A
• Complex carbohydrates

Foods to Avoid While Having depression treatment

Many highly refined, sugary, ultra-processed foods are low in brain nutrients. Having too many of these will impact your physical and mental health. Henceforth, you should avoid eating these foods:

• Alcoholic drinks
• Deep-fried foods
• Refined and processed foods
• Caffeinated drinks, such as coffee, tea, and delicate drinks
• Sugary foods

Nutritionist vs Dietitian: Choose the Right One

Many people often interchange both the terms nutritionist and dietitian. However, they did not know that there is a little difference between the two. Let us have a quick overview of nutritionist vs dietitian.

	Nutritionist	Dietician
Degree	No degree is required. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist.	Require a minimum bachelor’s degree of 4 years from an accredited institution.
Health Insurance	Are not eligible for coverage under health insurance	May be eligible for health insurance.
Regulatory bodies	Are not regulated by the government.	They are regulated by the government authority.
Place of Work	Limited is a place where they can work legally.	They can work in any govt. Hospital

Now, you already know the key difference between the two. Picking the best nutritionist near me will help you in achieving your goal. While looking for the perfect nutritionist, consider the following points:

• Credentials
• Alignment with your Goals
• Experience
• Specialization
• Availability
• Cost

Role of a Nutritionist in Weight Management: Assessing Nutritional Needs

Nutritionists are the health professionals who assess the dietary needs, lifestyle habits, and health goals of an individual. They create personalized health plans for weight management. A skilled nutritionist implies a holistic approach to creating a customized diet plan for the individual. Their primary focus is to improve the overall health of an individual through sustainable weight management practices.

The Role of Nutritionist in Weight Management includes:

• Creating a customized diet plan for an individual having the right number of macronutrients and micronutrients. They ensure that these diet plans are not only effective but are also enjoyable in longer period of time.
• They identify the area in the daily life that hinders the progress in weight management. Whether identifying the sleep pattern, managing stress, helping in adopting the regular exercise, a registered nutritionist provides a guidance for all.
• The role of nutritionist in weight management is to foster the healthy eating habits. They teach their clients about the nutritional value of different food, so that they can easily make a positive choice about the mindful eating.
• Following the weight management journey can be a challenging and daunting task. The nutritionist provides the support and motivation to an individual either through the consultations, or the virtual check-ins.
• A registered nutritionist collaborates with the other healthcare professionals such as physician, psychologist or dieticians to ensure that all aspects of individual health are addressed.

Ask Our Professionals

Nutritional psychiatry may appear to be a fancy term to some individuals. However, it has the potential to reshape your mental health. Some research shows that having a well-balanced, healthy diet supports mental health. Eating a nutritious diet full of nutrients is the best way to support your mental health. However, if you are looking for the best nutritionist near me, try to speak to professional experts.