- Depression is a mood disorder that affects 3.8% of the world’s population.
- New research from the University of Technology Sydney suggests that the Mediterranean diet helps improve symptoms of depression in young men.
- Researchers observed an improvement in depression symptoms in all participants receiving Mediterranean diet support, with 36% of them having reduced their symptoms to low or minimal depression norms.
In recent years, the Mediterranean diet has quickly become the diet of the day. Research shows that this way of eating has a number of positive health impacts, including improving a person’s gut microbiome, reducing
Scientists have also linked the Mediterranean diet to
Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney have now found evidence that a Mediterranean diet may also help improve symptoms in young men with depression.
The study has just been published in the
- Lack of appetite
- Sleep problems
- Fatigue
- Anger and irritability
- Agitation and/or restlessness
- Difficulty thinking or concentrating
- A feeling of guilt or worthlessness
- Very slow speech and/or body movements
- Unexplained body pain
- Thoughts of death and/or suicide
Researchers believe that depression affects
Researchers believe that depression affects
For example, one study suggested that men may be more likely than women to manifest depression through feelings of anger or substance abuse.
According to Jessica Bayes, PhD candidate at the University of Technology Sydney, Faculty of Health, and lead author of this study, she and her research team decided to focus on young men aged 18-25 for this study. study because young men are much less likely to seek help for their mental health.
“We urgently need more effective, evidence-based treatment strategies to help depression that appeal to young men,” she said. DTM. “The diet could be a great first step towards recovery.”
Bayes and his team conducted a 12-week randomized controlled trial with 72 male participants between the ages of 18 and 25 with moderate to severe depression. Participants were randomly selected to receive dietary support by learning to eat a Mediterranean diet or
At the end of the study, researchers reported that 100% of participants in the Mediterranean diet support group experienced an improvement in their symptoms of depression.
In this group, 36% saw their Beck Depression Inventory Scale (BDI-II) drop to a score of 0 to 10 (mild or minimal depression). Although there was also a drop in the mean score in the friendship group, all participants’ scores in the friendship group remained at the moderate to severe depression level at the end of the trial.
According to Bayes, while previous observational evidence shows that a Mediterranean diet is helpful in preventing depression, this was the first study in young men with clinical depression to test the diet in an experimental trial.
“We were surprised at how quickly the positive effects were seen and the participants’ willingness to continue the diet after the trial ended,” she explained.
“Nearly all of our participants remained with the program, and many were keen to continue the diet after the study was completed, showing how effective, tolerable, and helpful they found the intervention.”
–Jessica Bayes
DTM also spoke with Dr. David A. Merrill, psychiatrist and director of the Pacific Brain Health Center of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, who was very excited about the results of this study.
Dr. Merrill said the Mediterranean diet provides a bio-psycho-social model for treating depression. “Men tend to have poor diets in general and tend to strive for convenient fast foods that are nutritionally poor or suboptimal,” he explained.
“This type of nutritional intervention is about biology – it can improve the micronutrient status of individuals, things like […] pro-cognitive and pro-mood supports [and] proteins that are precursors to neurotransmitters like serotonin.
“This [also tends] have a social component […] in terms of preparation, food invites collaboration, like a partnership with family members, loved ones, cooks, chefs, which becomes a social impetus.
Additionally, Dr. Merrill said the Mediterranean diet may be an easier lifestyle change for people to adopt compared to other diets, such as the ketogenic diet or intermittent fasting.
“One of the reasons the Mediterranean-style diet may be one of the most effective nutritional interventions is that people tend to stick with it at higher rates,” he said.
“People tend to stop doing [limitation diets] once they exit a structured trial. It is true that food should be enjoyable, sustainable and social. Fortunately, the Mediterranean diet fits all of this and is also very nutritious.