Feeling down? Feeling depressed? Here are some practical strategies you can try – both physical and emotional.

Eat plenty of salmon and other oily fish. Omega-3 fats make up a large part of our brain and are critical for it to function properly. Although not conclusive, research has found a link between omega-3’s and depression.

Do some exercise. Better than any mood enhancing drug, a regular dose of exercise makes the body produce endorphins – the ‘feel-good’ hormone.

Change your clothes – the emotional ones. ‘Put on the garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair’ (Isaiah 61:3) When we feel depressed it’s like wearing a heavy blanket. The last thing we feel like doing is praising, thanking or singing. That sodden, heavy blanket weighs us down, making us sink into depression and self pity.

It’s the hardest thing in the world to do, and the last thing I feel like doing, but if I force myself to praise God, that heavy blanket of depression soon starts to slide off. Even if you don’t feel like it, make yourself listen to some praise music or read Psalm 66 out loud. It really works!!

Did you know that lightening releases nitrogen into the soil? I knew the legume family did this (beans, peas and lentils) – but I didn’t know about the fertilising benefits of lightening!  This was just one of many fascinating facts I learnt on a recent school tour of the Auckland Botanic Gardens.

Our plant educator taught us that a garden grows better when it has a good variety of plants and when the plants are rotated – not planted in the same place each season. “Plants don’t like to be alone,” she told us. “They grow better when they are around other plants.” I learnt how to plant a seedling without digging a hole – just dig in the trowel

Does your tummy gurgle and churn or bloat after a meal? There could be a simple solution – one that your parents or grandparents may have told you repeatedly as a child – chew your food! “Some of my patients have reduced their symptoms by 20-30% simply by chewing each mouthful 32 times,” says Clarice Hebblethwaite from ‘Dietary Specialists’ in Christchurch, New Zealand. Clarice is a NZ and UK registered dietitian, who specialises in helping people with digestive problems. She was also a chef for ten years so I guess she has seen the full spectrum of diners –

Every day, in a city the size of London, 30 million meals are served. But where does all the food come from? Architect Carolyn Steel discusses the daily miracle of feeding a city, and shows how ancient food routes shaped the modern world. Understanding the flow of food will help us reconnect with what we eat. (Recorded at TEDGlobal, July 2009, Oxford, UK. Duration: 15:41)