Sugar improving depression?

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I've been going through depression & anxiety pretty much every day since last November. Right now I have maybe three better days each week, and the other four are pretty bad. I notice that my mood generally picks up in the evenings while in the mornings I almost always feel badly anxious or depressed. Afternoons vary.

Just lately I've noticed that eating sugar improves my mood at times. It lifts the dullness I feel in the front of my head, and I think more positively. I have more energy. Doing things feels possible.

Do other people with depression use sugar as a stimulant? Does it work for you?

I know that I have to be careful with it because, before I was depressed, I often had angry outbursts two or three hours after eating something sugary. It seems that when the sugar high wears off, I can't cope with interactions with others.

I've surfed for information on the web about glucose depletion and the effects of glucose on depression. So far what I've read has either discredited the idea that glucose depletion can happen in the brain at all, or it has touted the benefits of lowering the glucose level through eating very few carbohydrates or simple sugars. Given that my experience flays in the face of what I've read, I wonder what real people with depression experience when eating sugar.

Thanks, in advance, for your comments.

As far as I know (if I've understood it correctly) the limbic system in the brain regulates both emotions and apetite (and other things) so when one's emotional life is disturbed so is often one's apetite. Refined carbohydrates such as sugar help with the serotonin production (which, as you might know, is a hormone/neurotransmitter contributing to feelings of well-being). So eating a lot of sugar when depressed isn't that weird. I do it too unfortunately (I mean, it's not good for you). Eating sugar doesn't really improve my mood but it helps me cope a bit so I guess it helps in some way. However, I wouldn't say sugar is "improving depression". I think it's just like alcohol; things feel better for a while, during the "high", but then you get low again and, like I said before, it's not good for you.

Does that answer your questions?

http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/06/ ... -and-mood/
A link to a good article about food, including sugar, and depression.

Thanks, alpineglow, for the link.

I find that eating pasta, cheese, and fish can keep depression to a minimum

mmm cheesy tuna pasta bake Make some pasta, mix it in a baking dish with a can of drained tuna, grated cheese, and sauce or flavours of your choice. Throw in some onions or other veges if you like. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Bake in oven or under grill. Keeps for a couple of days in the fridge.