Role Of Balanced Diet In Fighting Depression In Young Men
Research shows that young men who were having poor diet
experienced major improvements in depression symptoms
after switching to healthy and nutritional Mediterranean
diet.
We all know that one of the most common mental issues is
depression, affecting millions of people worldwide.
Depression is also considered one of the major risk factors
contributing to suicide in young men. A twelve week study
found that those on Mediterranean diet had been able to
modify their original dietary habits. The study also
suggests that psychologist and medical practitioners should
refer depressed people to a dietitian or nutritionist as
part of treatment for depression.
The study was a part of nutritional psychiatry that focuses
on dietary patterns, food habits, certain nutrients and
their effect on mental health. In particular the diet
utilized during the study consisted of legumes, vegetables,
oily fish, whole grains, and unsalted nuts. The purpose of
utilizing this diet was to increase the quality of food
intake. The aim was also to reduce consumption of sugar,
fast foods, as well as processed red meat.
There are valid reasons for believing that our mood is
affected by food we intake. For instance, almost 90% of
serotonin, which is a chemical that makes us feel happy is
produced by gut microbes in the gut. It is believed that
these microbes are able to communicate with the intelligence
system present in brain. Thus, to develop useful microbes we
need to consume more fiber that is present in vegetables,
fruits, and legumes.
Another promising thing about the study was that all the
participants in the study continued in the study program and
many of them were interested in continuing the diet even
after the study completed. This highlights the fact that the
intervention was tolerable, effective, and quite worthwhile.
The study was conducted by University of Technology, Sydney.