A Diet Without Enough Protein Can Cause Depression
Depression is a condition so common, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls it "a leading cause of disability."
Difficulty in falling asleep, loss of appetite, and loss of ability to concentrate are just a few of the other effects of depression. WHO estimates that worldwide, at any one time, 350 million people suffer from the condition. While life events such as the loss of a spouse or a job may create a happening of depression, many cases come from within and are not caused by a life event.
Now scientists are working on a new aspect of cure: nutrition. The Indian Journal of Psychiartry reports that both before and during a happening of depression, those with the condition will show a "poor appetite…" Many cases of depression, if not most cases, affect those who don't eat properly.
So what does protein have to do with all this? It all comes down to amino acids (氨基酸). Proteins are made up of amino acids, chemicals known as the "building blocks of life." There are 20 different amino acids.
Both the human brain and nervous system use amino acids as a substance that creates a signal from one brain cell to another or one nerve cell to another, thus relaying information between the cells. What the final result then?
Since amino acids make up protein, a diet which lacks in protein will cause weaker communication between the brain cells. This lessens the signal being sent from one brain cell to the next during a thought. This is why depression can often express itself as anger or aggression.
A. The ultimate effect is how we think.
B. Don't ruin your appetite by eating between meals.
C. Skipping meals itself can create a depressed mood.
D. A new research suggests that nutrition can lessen some of the risks of depression.
E. India is perhaps the world's leader in researching the connection between diet and depression.
F. Many of them are made by the human body, but nine others, the "essential" amino acids, must be eaten in one's diet.
G. The process can lead to twisted signals, which can not only lead to depression, but also, according to many scientists, aggression.
