Mediterranean Diet Could Prevent Depression, New Study Finds
Updated: Jan 21, 2020
From: CNN
By Nina Avramova
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes: Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts. Replacing butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil. Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods. Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month.
Millie Snyder, an award-winning author, inspirational speaker, and entrepreneur, has been positively impacting people’s lives for nearly fifty years with her message of healthy living.
This article from CNN reveals something Millie has known all-along.
A Mediterranean diet -- rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts and fish -- could help lower a person's risk of depression, a new study says.
The research, published Wednesday, analyzed 41 studies on the topic and found a link between people's diet and their chances of developing depression.
People who followed a strict Mediterranean diet had a 33% lower risk of being diagnosed with depression compared to people who were least likely to follow these eating habits.
"There is compelling evidence to show that there is a relationship between the quality of your diet and your mental health," said Camille Lassale, research associate at University College London's department of epidemiology and public health in the UK. "This relationship goes beyond the effect of diet on your body size or other aspects of health that can in turn affect your mood."
People whose diets were high in inflammatory substances, such as processed meats, trans fats and alcohol, were more likely to have depressive outcomes.
"A pro-inflammatory diet can induce systemic inflammation, and this can directly increase the risk for depression," said Lassale, adding that emerging evidence shows a relationship between the gut and the brain, controlled by gastrointestinal bacteria, which is in turn modified by our diet.