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Although the evidence is preliminary, a single study suggests that eating fast foods may be linked to depression. In a new study, Australian researchers studied Torres Strait Islanders, indigenous peoples living on islands in the Torres Strait area.
As part of a natural experiment, researchers at James Cook University found that the amount of fish and processed food consumed was related to depression.
A JCU research team led by Professors Zoltan Sarnyai and Robyn McDermott examined the link between depression and diet on an island in the Torres Strait, where fast food is available, and on a more isolated island that does not no fast food.
Dr. Maximus Berger, the lead author of the study, said that the team had interviewed a hundred people on both islands.
"We asked them about their diet, looked at their level of depression, and took blood samples. Not surprisingly, residents of the more isolated island, lacking fast food, reported significantly higher consumption of seafood and lower take-home food consumption than islanders. neighbor, "he said.
The researchers identified 19 people with moderate to severe depressive symptoms: 16 came from the island where fast food is readily available, but only three from the other island.
"People with major depressive symptoms were both younger and eating more take-home meals," said Berger.
The researchers analyzed the blood samples in collaboration with researchers from the University of Adelaide and highlighted differences in the levels of two fatty acids in people living in the respective islands.
"The level of fatty acid associated with depression and present in many takeaway was higher among people living on the island with fast access to fast food. The level of fatty acid associated with protection against depression and present in seafood was higher. on the other island, "Berger said.
Berger explains that the concentration and type of fatty acids is an important variable.
Contemporary Western diets have an abundance of depression-related fatty acids (PUFA n-6) and a relative lack of fatty acid that fights depression (AGLU n-3).
"In traditional countries, the ratio n-6 / n-3 is 1: 1, in industrialized countries 20: 1," he said.
Sarnyai shares the fact that depression affects about one in seven people at some point in their lives. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are disproportionately affected by psychological distress and poor mental health compared to the general population.
"Depression is complex, it is also related to social and environmental factors, so that there will be no quick fix, but our data suggest that a diet rich in LCPUFA n -3 provided by seafood and poor PUFA n-6 as found in many takeaways can be beneficial, "he said.
Sarnyai said that with the data currently available, it was premature to conclude that diet could have a lasting impact on the risk of depression, but called for more efforts to provide access to food healthy in rural and remote communities.
"This should be a priority and could be beneficial not only for physical health, but also for mental health and well-being," he said.
Source: James Cook University
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