Reuters Health announced last month that Dr. Felice N. Jacka, at the University of
Melbourne, Australia, along with her colleagues, found that women between ages 20 to 93 years old who ate primarily processed, refined, fatty foods for over 10 years were more likely to report mood disorders. Jacka and her team studied diet and psychiatric information from 1.046 women for over ten years. Jacka reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry that 121 of the women showed depressive and/or anxiety-related disorders while 925 revealed no mood disorders.
When they looked closer at diet, they found that eating primarily a "Western" diet (hamburgers, white sugars and breads, chips, beer, milk) was linked with a 50% greater likelihood for depressive disorders.
While those who ate a primarily "traditional" Australian diet (vegetables, fruit, beef, lamb, fish, whole grains) appeared about 30% less likely to exhibit depression or anxiety disorders.
The team did take into consideration the factors of age, body weight, social and economic status, education, activity levels, smoking, and alcohol consumption.
The researchers conclude this tie between diet and mental health seems worthy of pursuit.
So, if you're feeling down . . . start by taking a look your diet!
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