Link Between Healthy Eating and Reduced Symptoms of Depression | Life

MANCHESTER, Feb. 7 – A new British study has found that improving your diet could also alleviate the symptoms of depression.

Conducted by researchers from the University of Manchester, the new study examined 16 randomized controlled trials involving 45,826 participants to investigate the link between nutritional improvements and symptoms of depression and anxiety. .

The results, published in the journal Psychosomatic medicine, showed that all types of food improvements, including those designed to lose weight, reduce fat or increase nutrients, all seemed to have an equally beneficial effect on reducing symptoms of depression, even in people devoid of depressive disorder diagnosed.

Moreover, when nutritional improvements were combined with physical exercise, the positive effect was even stronger.

However, researchers were unable to determine a clear relationship between diet and anxiety, although they found that participants who improved their diet seemed to benefit even more. important with regard to the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

"The overall evidence of the effects of diet on mood and mental well-being had not yet been evaluated," said Dr. Joseph Firth, author of the study. "But our recent meta-badysis did just that. showing that adopting a healthier diet can boost people's mood. However, this does not have clear effects on anxiety. "

"The similar effects of any type of food improvement suggest that highly specific or specialized diets are not necessary for the average individual," Dr. Firth continued.

"Instead, just making simple changes is also good for mental health. In particular, eating more nutrient-dense meals, high in fiber and vegetables, while reducing fast foods and refined sugars, seems sufficient to avoid the potentially negative psychological effects of a "junk food" diet. .

"We do not yet know why not know why some of our data reveal significantly higher benefits of diets for women. So more research is needed. And we also need to link the benefits of healthy eating to improving physical health. It could be by reducing obesity, inflammation or fatigue, all of which are diet-related and have an impact on mental health. "

Another recent British study, conducted this time by the University of Leeds, also revealed that an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption could help improve mental well-being.

After reviewing data from over 40,000 participants, the team found that eating an extra serving of fruits and vegetables a day appeared to have an effect on mental well-being equivalent to about eight days of walking. additional per month, defined as a walk. for at least 10 minutes at a time. – AFP-Relaxnews