More diet/depression link evidence

Eat wholefoods for less chance of depression

A study of 3,500 civil servants, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, is the first in the UK to investigate the links between diet and depression.  Participants were split into two types of diet – one based largely on whole foods (i.e. fruit, vegetables and fish), or one based primarily on processed foods (e.g. fried food, processed meat, refined grains and high-fat dairy products and sweetened dessert).  Factors such as gender, education, age, physical activity, smoking and chronic diseases were controlled for – and a significant difference in depression risk was found after five years (there was no link between previous diagnosis of depression and unhealthy diet).

• Eating a diet high in processed foods increases the risk of depression by 58%, compared with the group who ate the least processed food.
• Eating a diet high in whole foods reduces the risk of depression – 26% lower among those who ate most whole foods compared to those who ate least.

The reasons for this are not clear – perhaps a link between diet, inflammation (as with conditions such as heart disease) and depression, or there could be a link with lifestyle that the researchers could not identify. In any event, more research is being encouraged by UK mental health NGOs, to make the links more explicit so that action can be taken.

Source: BBC News online, 2 November 2009.

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