The Best Foods to Fend Off Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Symptoms

If you’re suffering from a “blue Christmas,” try eating fewer candy canes and more pomegranates. Adopting a healthier diet might help lift your spirits if you’re suffering from a bout of a type of depression called seasonal affective disorder, aptly abbreviated as SAD.

Many people find themselves feeling sad (in the literal sense) during the winter holidays. For some, sadness is a cyclical event related to the change in seasons. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is thought to be triggered by getting less-than-normal sunlight exposure due to shorter days during winter months. This may cause a chemical change in the brain. Among common symptoms of SAD are fatigue, depression, hopelessness, and social withdrawal. Typical treatments include light therapy, talk therapy and antidepressant medications. But a change in diet may be useful, too.

While some studies have failed to find a specific nutritional intervention that relieves symptoms, other clinical research suggests that foods and specific nutrients that improve clinical depression may also be effective in lifting SAD. Registered dietitians and other nutrition experts often recommend that their patients suffering from SAD experiment with eliminating certain foods and adding healthier foods to see if they feel improvement.

“When discussing depression with my patients, I often use the phrase ‘blue bowel,’ a lighthearted name for the very serious relationship between depression and your gut,” says Uma Naidoo, MD, a nutritional…