Wanna be happy and kick Prozac to the curb? Start eating your fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, beans, fish and olive oil. We’ve long known that a Mediterranean diet is good for the heart, but it turns out it’s also good for the mood.

In a study published earlier this month, Spanish researchers looked at the diets of 10,000 people and found those who mainly ate a Mediterranean diet had lower depression rates than those who did not. The study compiled data from Spanish people who reported their dietary intake on a questionnaire between 1999 and 2005.

After an average follow-up of 4.4 years, the overall incidence of depression for those who followed the diet was 30 percent lower than for those who mostly did not follow the diet. Even lower rates of depression were associated with intake of specific elements of the Mediterranean diet, such as fruits, vegetables and olive oil.

To be sure, specific foods contain components that make your body, nervous system and brain work better. From the dopamine in chocolate to the serotonin producing carbohydrates, to the healthy fats and antioxidants that can boost brainpower, there’s definitely something physiological going on here.

I’d like to see a study that includes sociological-cultural controls because I think there’s something else going on here as well.

Notice that all the foods listed are whole foods, meaning they require cooking and preparation. So the people in the study who followed the Mediterranean diet and experienced less depression were probably cooking.

If people take the time and energy to cook, it usually means they place some importance on cooking for others, sitting down in groups to eat and generally having unhurried, quality contact with friends and loved ones.

Of course, you can eat a Mediterranean meal in a restaurant, but you’d have to be frequenting restaurants that actually cook real food. These are the types of restaurants people go to with others to enjoy life and socialize. There it is again – human interaction over a meal.

What you cannot do is follow a Mediterranean diet eating fast food, eating in your car or heating up processed food in the microwave and scarfing it down in front of the television or computer. These eating behaviors are often engaged in while alone, when rushed or when stressed.

What I’m getting at is this:

The way you eat and how much you enjoy mealtimes might have just as much to do with mood as what you eat.

Whether or not depression causes social isolation, or vice versa, there is a strong correlation between the two.

One study showed that children who have regular family mealtimes are less likely to get in trouble as teens. Troubled teens are often depressed. Another researcher found that family mealtimes strengthen relationships. People with strong relationships are less likely to be depressed.

So here’s my Rx for depression prevention:

Invite some good friends or family members into the kitchen and prepare a meal of healthy, whole foods from scratch and then sit down and eat it together. Enjoy the following recipe with a moderate glass of red wine and some fresh, seasonal fruit for dessert and you should feel better by morning.

Depression Busting Mediterranean Grain Bowl

Serves 6

4 small to medium beets
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) walnut halves, coarsely chopped
1 cup brown rice
Salt
1 bunch Lacinato or green or red kale
1 can sardines, drained, skin and bones removed and separated into filets
2/3 cup cooked and drained (or canned) chickpeas
2/3 cup homemade vinaigrette made with olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Trim the beets and wrap them in 1 or 2 foil packets, depending on their size, keeping like-sized beets with like-sized beets. Roast until tender and fragrant, 35 to 40 minutes. Use a small paring knife or skewer to check for doneness. Set the beets aside to steam in their foil packets. When they are cool enough to handle, peel them by rubbing the skins off with your fingertips, and cut the beets into bite-sized wedges.

Lower the oven to 300 degrees F.

Arrange the walnuts in a single layer in a small baking dish. Toast until brown and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

While the beets are roasting and the walnuts are toasting, cook the rice according to package instructions. Set aside until you are ready to mix the salad.

Meanwhile, trim, stem, and wash the kale and put it in a vegetable steamer set over boiling water. Steam until tender, wilted, but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Remove immediately to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and squeeze out excess moisture. Chop coarsely and set aside.

When all the rice, beets, walnuts and greens are ready, transfer them to a large bowl. Add the chickpeas and dressing and toss thoroughly. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Present each serving with a filet or two of sardines on top.

Image: ToastyKen

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Shop till You Drop, a dead end job mystery is a humorous detective novel about a woman who uncovers crimes while employed at an ultra-exclusive boutique in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. But there is much truth to the title of this fiction. It is also the real-life saga of more and more women during the recession.

Conspicuous consumption seems to be the remedy for what ails many money-strapped UK women, as found in a new survey by researchers at the University of Hertfordshire.

Some 700 women were asked about their emotional responses to their grim financial situations and almost half reported they were pretty darn scared. Nealy 80% said they were so concerned about their bank accounts, they would be making cutbacks on spending.

Yet 79% also confessed they would go the material girl route to cheer themselves up – splurging on clothes and other items to release those endorphins. Hey, chocolate only goes so far.

The survey results, published by Life Science, also found 40 percent of the women cited depression as an excuse to overspend, while 60 percent claimed “feeling a bit low” was a good enough reason.

Karen Pine, Professor University of Hertfordshire

“This type of spending, or compensatory consumption, serves as a way of regulating intense emotions,” observes Karen Pine, Aussie professor and author of  Sheeconomics (Headline Publishing Group, 2009).

Pine likens the splurge mentality to an addiction such as drug dependency in which people self-medicate, but instead of drugs, the high is retail therapy: a new dress, eye shadow and a few pairs of summer sandals. Ironically, it all adds up to more credit card debt and feeling even worse after from pangs of guilt.

“If shopping is an emotional habit for women, they may feel the need to keep spending despite the economic downturn,” figures Pine. “Or, perhaps worse still, if they can’t spend we might see an increase in mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.”

I guess it’s true. The shopping avenue has always served as a huge distraction for me, something that allows me to flex my creative eye, even if the wallet is not quite as limber. In fact, one of my favorite haunts is Retail Therapy, a designer outlet in San Francisco. I’m guaranteed to get my fix there when my bank book gets me down.

Who says affluenza ceases just because your portfolio goes south?

Apparently, women are not the only victims of the shopping addiction during hard times. A 2006 study by the Stanford University School of Medicine found 5.5 percent of men label themselves compulsive buyers.

So what is the cure for the cure?

In the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, the compulsive shopper finds relief by attending a self-help group and purging her stuff. Maybe that also works in the real world. There sure would be a lot of takers among the most serious victims of the recession, those struggling just to buy food.

2008 Robert Zuckerman / Walt Disney Pictures

In an idyllic world, you could file your stress along with completed assignments when the clock strikes five. In reality, it tends to follow you home after a taxing day at work. If throwing on a pair of cozy pajamas and sinking into your sofa with a good book just isn’t enough to rid your mind of worries, try aromatherapy. This fragrant method of therapy can alleviate much more than just anxiety:

If humdrum routines have faded your passion into apathy, take a bath enhanced with peppermint essential oil to awaken your zest for life.

We all feel out of touch with the world sometimes, so combat those occasional sentiments of loneliness by mixing a little marjoram essential oil into your body lotion.

Have minor disputes caused you to fly off the handle lately? Well, you don’t need a counseling session to abate your heightened sense of irritability. Just burn some lavender incense and let the calm wash over you.

Whenever you’re feeling blue, add several drops of neroli essential oil to a bowl filled with steaming water, cover your head with a towel and inhale this uplifting scent.

You’re always up to speed on the latest trends, but scanning through all those fashion magazines is hardly a ticket for high self-esteem. Light a sandalwood essential oil soy candle and show your insecurities (and the magazine) the recycling bin.

Interested in around-the-clock relief? Make your own essential oil perfume with these aromas and soothe these emotions all day long.

Image: estrilda