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The Mediterranean diet, already thought to protect against heart disease and
cancer, may also help to prevent depression, Spanish researchers say.
They found depression was more than 30% less likely to develop in people who
followed a diet high in vegetables, fruit and cereals, and low in red meat.
They studied 10,094 healthy adults over four years, the Journal of the American
Medical Association reports.
However, the team stressed additional, larger-scale studies were required.
Researchers at the Universities of Las Palmas and Navarra recruited university
graduates to take part.
Dietary patterns
They completed questionnaires and the researchers calculated their adherence to
the Mediterranean dietary pattern (MDP) for an average of four-and-a-half
years.
MEDITERRANEAN DIET FEATURES
Participants who had a strong adherence to the MDP tended to be male,
ex-smokers, married and older individuals.
They were more active physically and showed a higher total energy intake.
The researchers identified 480 new cases of depression during the follow-up
period - 156 in men and 324 in women.
They found that those with the highest adherence to the MDP were more than 30%
less likely to develop depression.
They took into account marital status, the number of children and factors
associated with a healthy lifestyle and found the relationship did not change.
Even taking account of personality traits, such as competitiveness and anxiety,
had no effect on the results.
'More research needed'
Professor Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez, of the University of Navarra, said the
results would have to be confirmed in longer trials with more participants but
they had found a strong inverse association between the Mediterranean diet and
depression.
"Thirty per cent is a large reduction in the risk and this could be very
important considering the large burden of disease represented by depression.
"We know how important the Mediterranean diet is in reducing cardiovascular
risk factors and the same inflammatory proteins are also raised in patients
with depression."
He said it was likely that the overall dietary pattern was more important than
the effect of single components and "may exert a fair degree of protection
against depression".
Dr Cecilia D'Felice, a clinical psychologist, said there was mounting evidence
for the importance of diet in treating depression.
She said: "What we do know is that a diet high in olive oil will enhance the
amount of serotonin or brain transmitter available to you.
"Most anti-depression drugs work to keep more serotonin available in the
brain."