The 12 foods that are best for depression

January is often known as the most depressing month as Christmas fades into the past, our pockets are empty thanks to the spend, the weather is cold (at least in the northern hemisphere) and the days are short. 

As such, it’s a great month to look at the nutrients that are said to have the most antidepressant and anti-anxiety qualities. 

The best evidence for the best nutrients comes in the form of some research that took place and was published in the World Journal of Psychiatry in 2018. 

Researchers looked at the 34 nutrients that are known to be essential for human life and looked at all the research that had been conducted into using them as an intervention in depressive disorders. 

Their conclusion was that the 12 main nutrients are:

Folate (vitamin B9)
Iron
Omega-3 fats,
Magnesium
Potassium
Selenium
Thiamine
Vitamin A
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Vitamin C
Zinc

The highest scoring foods were oysters and mussels, various seafoods and organ meats, as well as leafy greens, lettuces, peppers and cruciferous vegetables.

In our January 2022 recipes, we looked at including as many of these nutrients as we could, while Jason also looked at the visual delivery of the recipes to try and create a burst of summer on a plate! 

You can watch more of our rationale in the video above, and you can read the full research paper here.