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An badysis of data from nearly 46,000 people found that dieting, essential nutrients and slimming diets can all alleviate the symptoms of non-clinical depression.
Dr. Joseph Firth, an honorary researcher at the University of Manchester and a researcher at the Western Sydney University's NICM Health Research Institute, said existing research was not able to definitively determine whether an improved diet could be beneficial for mental health.
But in a new study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, Dr. Firth and his colleagues have collected all existing data from clinical trials of diets for mental health problems.
And the study provides compelling evidence that improved diet dramatically reduces the symptoms of depression even in people who do not have depressive disorders diagnosed.
Dr. Firth said, "The overall evidence of the effects of diet on mood and mental well-being had not yet been evaluated.
"But our recent meta-badysis did just that. showing that adopting a healthier diet can improve people's mood. However, this does not have clear effects on anxiety. "
The study combined data from 16 randomized controlled trials examining the effects of dietary interventions on symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Sixteen eligible trials with outcome data for 45,826 participants were included; the majority of them examined samples with non-clinical depression.
The study found that all types of dietary enhancement appeared to have equal effects on mental health, dieting, slimming or improving nutrients all having the same effects on depressive symptoms.
"This is actually good news," said Dr. Firth; "The similar effects of any type of dietary improvement suggest that highly specific or specialized diets are not necessary for an average individual.
"Instead, just making simple changes is also good for mental health. In particular, eating more nutrient dense, high fiber and vegetable meals, while reducing fast foods and refined sugars, seems sufficient to avoid the potentially negative psychological effects of a "junk food" diet.
Dr. Brendon Stubbs, co-author of the study and clinical lecturer at the Maudsley Biomedical Research Center of the NHRI and at King's College London, added: "Our data is adding to the Growing evidence to support lifestyle promotion interventions as an important approach to combat depression and mood.
"Specifically, our findings from this study showed that when dietary interventions were badociated with exercise, depressive symptoms were further enhanced. Together, our data really highlight the central role of a healthier diet and regular exercise as a viable treatment for people in a bad mood. "
Studies reviewed with women's samples showed that dietary interventions were even more beneficial for the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Dr. Firth added, "We do not yet know why we do not know why some of our data reveal significantly higher benefits for women's diets.
"So more research is needed on this subject. And we also need to link the benefits of healthy eating to improving physical health.
"This could be due to the reduction of obesity, inflammation or fatigue – all of which are diet-related and have an impact on mental health.
"And further research is still needed to examine the effects of dietary interventions in people with clinically diagnosed psychiatric disorders."
The effects of diet improvement on symptoms of depression and anxiety: a meta-badysis of randomized controlled trials is published in Psychosomatic Medicine.
This article has been republished from materials provided by the University of Manchester. Note: Content may have changed for length and content. For more information, please contact the cited source.
Reference
The effects of diet improvement on depression and anxiety symptoms: a meta-badysis of randomized controlled trials. Joseph Firth; Wolfgang Marx; Sarah Dash; Rebecca Carney; Scott B Teasdale; Marco Solmi; Brendon Stubbs; Felipe B. Schuch; André F. Carvalho; Felice Jacka; Jerome Sarris. Psychosomatic medicine. DOI: 10.1097 / PSY.00000000000006767.
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