PROCESSED FOOD LINK WITH DEPRESSION

Processed food link to depression: research

 

AFP - Tuesday, November 3,2009

LONDON (AFP) - – A diet heavy in processed and fatty foods increases the risk of depression, according to British research published on Monday.

A recent research from University College, London, suggested a link between nutrients that are present in processed foods such as fatty acids and B vitamins, and depression.

For the new study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, researchers studied dietary data provided from 3486 participants, foodproductiondaily.com reported. With an average age of 55 years the participants, completed a questionnaire on their eating habits at the start of the trial and, five years later, a self-assessment on depression.

Researchers at University College London also found that a diet including plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish could help prevent the onset of depression.

They compared participants -- all civil servants -- who ate a diet largely based on "whole" foods with a second group who mainly ate fried food, processed meat, high-fat dairy products and sweetened desserts.

Those eating a lot of processed meat, chocolate, sweetened desserts, fried foods, refined cereals and high fat dairy, on the other hand, were seen to be more vulnerable to depression. The clear distinction remained even after the researchers had accounted for factors like smoking, level of physical activity, and body mass.

Taking into account other indicators of a healthy lifestyle such as not smoking and taking physical exercise, those who ate the whole foods had a 26 percent lower risk of depression than those who ate mainly processed foods.

People with a diet heavy in processed food had a 58 percent higher risk of depression.

The researchers put forward several explanations for the findings, which are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Firstly, the high level of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables could have a protective effect, as previous studies have shown higher antioxidant levels to be associated with a lower risk of depression.

Secondly, eating lots of fish may protect against depression because it contains high levels of the sort of polyunsaturated fatty acids which stimulate brain activity.

And they said it was possible that a "whole food" diet protects against depression because of the combined effect of consuming nutrients from lots of different types of food, rather than the effect of one single nutrient.

The researchers concluded: "Our research suggests that healthy eating policies will generate additional benefits to health and well-being, and that improving people's diet should be considered as a potential target for preventing depressive disorders."