Here’s yet another reason to listen to your mother when she says to make sure you eat your fruits and vegetables. A new study in the British Journal of Psychiatry has found that those who regularly eat fish, fruit, and vegetables decrease their chances for developing depression.
About 3,500 British civil servant’s diets were observed by scientists at London’s University College. Five years later they evaluated the individuals symptoms of depression. These researchers pointed out the beneficial effect of a whole-food healthy diet that seemed to protect those who consumed it. On the flip side, they found that those who ate a poor diet consisting of sweets, processed meats, fried food, refined cereals and high-fat dairy foods appeared to make them more vulnerable to depression.
The study drew attention to a link between diet and depression. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a poor diet definitely causes depression, but these results are compelling. So what is most likely giving the protection for good mental health? The researchers suggested a variety of possibilities. Maybe it could be the antioxidants in fruits and vegetables believed to protect cells from harm, the folic acid found in leafy greens that affects brain tissue, or the omega-3 fatty acids in fish that are found in specific brain membranes. Or they theorized that the benefits could be from a combination of all of these factors.
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