Healthy diet can beat symptoms of depression

DN Bureau

While many might agree that ice-cream binge can sooth your soul during a rough phase in your life, a recent study suggests that weight loss, nutrient boosting and fat reduction diets can reduce the symptoms of depression

Representative Image
Representative Image


Washington D.C: While many might agree that ice-cream binge can sooth your soul during a rough phase in your life, a recent study suggests that weight loss, nutrient boosting and fat reduction diets can reduce the symptoms of depression.

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In a new study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, a team of researchers brought together all existing data from clinical trials of diets for mental health conditions.

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The research provides convincing evidence that dietary improvement significantly reduces symptoms of depression, even in people without diagnosed depressive disorders.

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"The overall evidence for the effects of diet on mood and mental well-being had up to now yet to be assessed. But our recent meta-analysis has done just that; showing that adopting a healthier diet can boost peoples' mood. However, it has no clear effects on anxiety," said Joseph Firth, lead researcher of the study.

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The study found that all types of dietary improvement appeared to have equal effects on mental health, with weight-loss, fat reduction or nutrient-improving diets all having similar benefits for depressive symptoms.This is actually good news. The similar effects from any type of dietary improvement suggests that highly-specific or specialised diets are unnecessary for the average individual,” said Firth.

"Instead, just making simple changes is equally beneficial for mental health. In particular, eating more nutrient-dense meals which are high in fibre and vegetables, while cutting back on fast-foods and refined sugars appears to be sufficient for avoiding the potentially negative psychological effects of a 'junk food' diet,” he asserted. (ANI)










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