Eating to Beat Stress and Depression

• To achieve emotional balance, improve your nutritional balance. That means including fats, carbohydrates and proteins in your daily diet, along with other beneficial nutrients. And be sure to drink enough fluids.
• Don't skip meals. Indeed, have more—and smaller—meals. "I can't stress enough the importance of not skipping meals, not going on fad diets and having balance with fruits and vegetables," Taub-Dix says. "Sometimes women skip meals and don't realize what a toll that takes on health and state of mind."
• If you've stopped eating junk food, increased fiber and added more whole foods, but mood problems have persisted, it may be time to try something new, says Swift, who is part of a team of nutrition experts at http://www.myfoodmyhealth.com, a Web site that offers meal planning guidance and recipes for various health conditions. "Something else may be going on," she says, in which a food that is "physiologically offensive" to your system, such as wheat or dairy, may be disrupting things.
• "You might be taking in some foods that, even though they appear to be naturally nutrient rich, like a whole rye cereal, may not be the best match to you personally," she says. With a nutritionist or dietitian to guide you, Swift suggests experimenting with a week of gluten-free (or dairy-free) eating to see if that change improves your mood.