You might assume that nothing would make you happier than polishing off that super-sized double cheeseburger meal with a large milkshake, but actually the opposite is true -- recent studies suggest that eating junk food actually makes you depressed. Researchers at the University College London in England found that people who regularly indulged in processed, high-fat and sugary foods were 58 percent more likely to suffer from depression than those who eat a healthy, balanced diet.

"There seem to be various aspects of lifestyle such as taking exercise which also matter, but it appears that diet is playing an independent role," Dr. Eric Brunner, lead author of the study, told the Daily Mail.

So is a healthy diet really that much better for you? The study, which appeared in the British Journal of Psychiatry, concluded that all the nutrients found in wholesome food compared to fast food affect mental health. High levels of antioxidants, folate and omega-3s are being credited with the positive mental health of those with a balanced diet. On the other hand, unstable blood sugar levels contribute to high levels of depression in junk food eaters.

The bottom line? Junk food won't make you happy. Keep that in mind next time you're weighing up the merits of a salad versus a Whopper at lunchtime.

In fact, poor eating may send you to therapy -- it did for Kevin Federline.

Each week, we'll be naming a Super Food and offering unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

Peas are one of my favourite vegetables -- especially when they're fresh from the garden. Crunchy, juicy and just a little bit sweet, they're absolutely delicious. Even in the winter, when they come frozen from a bag in the freezer, they're still really tasty. And usually, things that taste good aren't good for you (and vice versa) but peas are the exception; not only do peas taste good, they're really good for you too.

But just what about green peas makes them so nutritious?

Good nutrition is so important for pregnant women and women who are planning to get pregnant. Different nutrients stimulate your baby's development and help ensure good health. Choosing nutritious foods and including a lot of fruits and vegetables is a good way to get an assortment of vitamins and minerals. But there are a few nutrients moms-to-be must take extra measures to include in their diet:

• Folic acid
• Calcium
• Omega-3 (DHA and EPA)
• Vitamin D
  

You can get all of these nutrients from food and other natural sources. Prenatal vitamins also supply many of these nutrients, but you should check with your OB/GYN before taking any supplements. See the gallery for more sources of each nutrient. And Happy Mother's Day!

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5 Things You Can Do With a Pea:

1) Shoot them through a straw at other kids during lunch in the school cafeteria;

2) Use them as an alternative protein source to whey, casein, meat, and egg;

3) Place them under the mattress of a princess and see if she can feel it;

4) Put them up your nose to make it look like you're rockin' a huge booger (works well in the same grammar school environment as use #1);

5) Reduce your risk of stroke and other heart complications.

Going on the assumption that you're already well versed in the first four uses, I'll focus on the last. Because peas contain a great deal of the B vitamin folate, they help reduce homocystene levels, a substance that, according to RealAge.com, can cause bad cholesterol to oxidize and contribute to artery-blocking blood clots.

Since the average American diet tends to fall a bit short in the folate department, perhaps you should try adding peas to your shopping cart the next time you're at the grocery store. The best part is that even if you buy too many, you can always use them to do numbers one through four.

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Women who are trying to conceive or who have become pregnant are urged to take their prenatal vitamins, which are high in folic acid. Folic acid (or folate), when taken before and during pregnancy, has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in newborns.

A recent study suggests that it might not be a bad idea for dads-to-be to get a little extra folate in their diet as well. When researchers studied sperm samples from 89 healthy men, they found that men who had diets rich in folate or who took folic acid were less likely to have sperm with a chromosomal abnormality called aneuploidy. Though the defect was rare in general, it was up to 30% less common in men who had high levels of folate in their diet.

More studies need to be done to find out exactly what this finding means. In the mean time, if you'd like to increase the folate in your diet, it can be found in leafy greens, enriched grains, as well as beans, peas, and fruits.

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Here's an interesting tidbit I learned from Fitsugar today: Bananas have the highest concentration of antioxidants when they're at their most ripe, meaning when they're just starting to turn a bit brown. Now, I have to admit, I'm much more of a non-ripe banana eater--I prefer them when they're just past being green. Otherwise they're too mushy for me. You too? Here are some healthy ways to stomach the mushy banana:

• Throw it in a smoothie. Browning bananas are much better-tasting in a smoothie than green or yellow ones. I throw it in with some vanilla yogurt and a touch of chocolate sauce -- it's oh-so-delicious.
• Slice it and have it with some granola or cereal.
  
• Much it up and spread it on toast, with some peanut butter if you like.
  

Afraid of bananas? Don't be--they have plenty of heart-healthy nutrients and aren't too high in calories either -- a medium one has 103 calories.

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According to an Italian study, from which results were published in past issue of the journal CANCER, folic acid supplements may prevent cancer progression and promote regression of the disease.

Researchers found that 31 of 43 patients with the precancerous laryngeal lesion known as leucoplakia showed a 50 percent or greater reduction in the size of the lesion after taking folate supplements for six months. And, for the remaining 12 patients, they amazingly did not show any sign of the original lesion after the six month period.

Folate is sometimes more widely known as vitamin B-9, which is found in abundance in fruits and vegetables, as well as several types of beans. Plus, many multi-vitamins offer close to the recommended daily value of folate.

According to a recent Swedish study, higher intakes of the vitamin B folate can decrease the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer. Folate may also lower the risk of cancers of the colon, pancreas, esophagus, stomach, and cervix. But there's a catch.

Folate can promote cancer development too. Excess amounts of folate can encourage the aggressive growth of cancer cells once a small tumor or polyp has already been formed.

And so it seems too much of a good thing really can be detrimental. The bottom line, though, is that eating a healthy plant-based diet will not put you at risk for excess folate. Just be mindful of supplements, certain nutrition bars, and cereals that provide 50 percent or more of the daily value for folate. Stick with natural food sources offering other beneficial vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. The combination of all these goodies will help protect you from cancer.

To reference a dietary fact sheet about folate, click here.

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Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

I know I've brought some crazy foods to the forefront in this feature, from lacto-fermented vegetables to broccoli sprouts, but now I am going to ask you to think about eating seaweed.

Huh?

You mean that stuff that wraps around your legs when you body surf, and makes the sunny beaches smell like dead fish? Why would you ever want to eat seaweed?

Kelp is rich in all the minerals found in human blood, pretty nourishing I'd say. High contents of folate, vitamin K, iodine for thyroid heath and calcium, not to mention cancer-fighting lignans, can all be found in kelp.

So why would you not want to eat seaweed, with all that it has going for it, and you?

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The B vitamin family is a large one. If they owned an actual home, they would probably have to a housekeeper named Alice. But, not only are the B vitamins many in number, they are also extremely important to a healthy diet. This is especially true of folate, number 9 in the B vitamin family.

A recent study on the effects of low folate levels revealed a link to higher rates of depression in both men and women. Although this correlation had been previously observed, the association was not considered conclusive until now.

The new research on the folate/depression link was based on a meta-analysis of 11 studies involving a total of 15,315 participants, 1,769 of whom were diagnosed with clinical depression. The numbers revealed that low folate levels were associated with a 42-percent greater risk of depression.

Care to read more on the study? Here's the press release from the University of York.

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I always find it easier to work the daily recommendation of 7 to 8 servings of fruit and vegetables into my meals during the summer. All sorts of fresh produce is in season at that time of year making it pretty simple to include a variety of fruits and veggies into meals or just as a quick snack.

Now that winter is approaching, it's a bit more difficult to incorporate tasty produce into your diet each day. Strawberries are one fruit that I love which can usually be found at the supermarket all year round. The superfood is great for you as it's full of fiber, folate, vitamin C and antioxidants, which look after your heart and help protect against cancer, among other benefits.

If you'd like to incorporate more of the ripe, red berry into your meals, why not try some of the strawberry-enhanced meal suggestions offered here. For breakfast you can enjoy an English muffin topped with low-fat cream cheese and fresh, sliced strawberries, add strawberries to your favorite salad at lunch and enjoy chicken, vegetable and strawberry kebabs at dinner.

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Fast food restaurants and snacks like chips and cheese puffs are popular for a reason. In part because -- and let's face it -- most of us think they taste fantastic. But these fatty foods with very little nutritional value are also favored by millions because they're quick, easy and satisfying for people who have too much going on in their lives to sit down to three square meals a day.

Just because you're busy though, doesn't give you an excuse to eat garbage. If you're in a hurry, why not try some of the following snacks that are full of nutrients we all need.

• Nuts, seeds, dried fruit and cereal provide your body with iron, which is essential for supplying oxygen to red blood cells .
• Grab a handful of peanuts, walnuts or sunflower seeds (or use avocado as a sandwich spread) to increase your consumption of heart-healthy folate.
  
• A lot of people think they should stay away from cheese, but the truth is the tasty, quick and simple snack is full of calcium, which is great for strong bones and teeth.
• We all know why fiber is important -- it prevents the risk of some cancers as well as the risk of constipation -- so up your fiber intake by snacking on fruits and veggies or by eating a high-fiber cereal for breakfast (some fiber cereals also taste good when added to a cup of yogurt).

For more information on tasty, low-calorie and-fat alternatives to typical snacks, as well as suggestions for eating healthier at a fast food restaurants, take a look here.

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I like the view in this piece that we shouldn't rely on a pill to get all of the vitamins and minerals we need to keep our bodies healthy. Many exist in abundance in food so why no make a commitment to include them as part of a regular diet rather than always turning to a multivitamin? I'm not saying they multivitamins are useless, but if it's possible to absorb vitamins in food, why not give that a try too?

For those who are interested in giving it a go, here is a list of 10 essentials, along with one of the many reasons each is so good for you and some of the foods that are packed full of them:

• Iron - Prevents anemia, found in tofu, lean red meat, nuts and seeds, dried fruit and fortified cereal.
• Vitamin C - Helps your body deal with stress, found in orange juice and citrus fruits, strawberries, broccoli, spinach and bell peppers.
• Vitamin D - Aids in cancer prevention, found in fortified milk and yogurt, salmon and can be absorbed from a small amount of sun exposure.
• Vitamin E - An antioxidant that helps lower the risk of a stroke, found in almonds and sunflower seeds.
• Vitamin K - Aids in blood clotting, found in avocados, kale, spinach and pine nuts.
• Calcium - Essential for bone health, found in milk and dairy products, broccoli, almonds and sesame seeds.
• Folate - Fights cancer, found in peanuts, lentils, corn and spinach
• Selenium - Keeps immune system strong, found in shellfish, Brazil nuts and sesame seeds.
• Magnesium - Helps keep bones strong, found in beans, seeds, nuts and green leafy vegetables.
• Potassium - Works to keep blood pressure level, found in sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, kiwi and bananas.

To find out more about why these are all so good for you, as well as other foods that contain the 10 vitamins and minerals, take a look here. The article even includes a recipe for each, and they all look pretty tasty.

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A little while ago, Jonathon posted on things you should be eating in your 20s. What if you're in your 30s? Should you have the same diet? As long as you're eating a healthy, balances diet, it shouldn't matter much, but there are a few things you should concentrate on getting, like:

• Folate: It's found in leafy greens, and it's especially important if you're considering getting pregnant in your 30s.
• Phytonutrients: These antioxidants can help protect your heart and have even been shown to prevent cancer
• Iron: Feeling drained? Get more iron. Women in their 30s are more susceptible to anemia. Lean red meat, chickpeas, potato skins and beans all have iron, and don't forget the Vitamin C -- it's crucial to Iron absorption.
  

What are you eating more of in your 30s?

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The answer to this question seems pretty simple. Egg whites are all the rage today -- to the extent that you can even buy them on their own, sans yolks. It's pretty clear why they're so popular; Egg whites are a low-fat source of protein that are free of the saturated fat and cholesterol that the yellow stuff has.

But here's some news that might surprise you: In addition to having all the bad stuff, yolks also have all the good stuff too. According to Fitsugar, yolks have less sodium and more calcium, vitamin D and folate than whites. So next time you whip up that egg-white omelet, leave a yolk -- just one should be enough.

I personally prefer my eggs with yolks, but I don't eat them enough for it to be a big problem. What about you? Are you an egg white or egg yolk person?

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