Researchers of a new study found that individuals who eat a healthy diet are at a lower risk of going into depression.
Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland have found that consuming a healthy diet reduces the risk of severe depression. In a study conducted on 2,000 men, they also found that losing weight due to lifestyle intervention also led to a decrease in depressive symptoms.
"The study reinforces the hypothesis that a healthy diet has potential not only in the warding off of depression, but also in its prevention," said Ms Anu Ruusunen, MSc, who presented the results in her doctoral thesis in the field of nutritional epidemiology.
The 2,000 middle-aged or older Finnish men who took part in the study were followed-up for an average of 13-20 years. Researchers observed that a diet including whole-grains, vegetables, berries, fruits, fish, poultry and low-fat cheese resulted in less likelihood of depressive symptoms and a lower risk of depression during the follow-up period.
Contrarily, the consumption of sausages, processed meats, sugar-containing desserts and snacks, sugary drinks, manufactured foods, French rolls and baked or processed potatoes led to elevated depressive symptoms. Researchers also noted that participating in a three-year lifestyle intervention course for weight loss also led to a decrease in depressive symptoms.
Unlike other studies, researchers didn't take vitamin B12 , serum concentrations of n-3 PUFAs, serum ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFAs, tea drinking and total caffeine intake into consideration while linking diet to the risk of depression.
Statistics show that one in every four Americans, accounting for 26.2 percent of the country's population, suffer from mental disorders, depression being the most common disorder. Major Depressive Disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15-44, affecting approximately 14.8 million American adults.
