Diet and depression: what you eat impacts your mood

a post by Jason Weisberger for the Boing Boing blog

For years a friend has been telling my diet was hurting my general demeanor.

Last year I stopped ignoring her and switched to a diet more like what is described in this study.

I will never be Mr. Cheerful, but it really did help.

NPR:

A randomized controlled trial published in the journal PLOS ONE finds that symptoms of depression dropped significantly among a group of young adults after they followed a Mediterranean-style pattern of eating for three weeks. Participants saw their depression "score" fall from the "moderate" range down to the "normal" range, and they reported lower levels of anxiety and stress too.

Alternatively, the depression scores among the control group of participants – who didn't change their diets –  didn't budge. These participants continued to eat a diet higher in refined carbohydrates, processed foods and sugary foods and beverages. Their depression scores remained in the "moderate severity" range.

"We were quite surprised by the findings," researcher Heather Francis, a lecturer in clinical neuropsychology at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, told NPR via email. "I think the next step is to demonstrate the physiological mechanism underlying how diet can improve depression symptoms," Francis said.

Hazel’s comment:
And it is no surprise that people in the UK trying to exist on Universal Credit are also depressed. Bread, potatoes, starchy root vegetables etc are cheaper than the non-carbohydrate vegetables that are good for you!

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