Mediterranean diet ‘reduces risk of depression’

People who regularly eat a Mediterranean diet appear less likely to develop depression, new research shows.

The study published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry claims the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders has been found to be lower in the Med compared to Northern Europe.

A typical Mediterranean diet is high in rich, vegetables, fruits, nuts and fish.

As part of the new study, researcher examined 10,094 healthy Spanish participants who completed an initial questionnaire between 1999 and 2005.

Participants reported their dietary intake on a food frequency questionnaire, and the researchers calculated their adherence to the Mediterranean diet based on nine components.

After a median (midpoint) of 4.4 years of follow-up, researchers identified 480 new cases of depression, including 156 in men and 324 in women.

The results of the study showed individuals who followed the Mediterranean diet most closely had a greater than 30 per cent reduction in the risk of depression than whose who had the lowest Mediterranean diet scores.

The association did not change when the results were adjusted for other markers of a healthy lifestyle, including marital status and use of seatbelts.

The authors comment: 'The specific mechanisms by which a better adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern could help to prevent the occurrence of depression are not well known.”

They claim components of the diet may improve blood vessel function, fight inflammation, reduce risk for heart disease and repair oxygen-related cell damage, all of which may decrease the chances of developing depression.

They add: 'However, the role of the overall dietary pattern may be more important than the effect of single components.

“It is plausible that the synergistic combination of a sufficient provision of omega-three fatty acids together with other natural unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants from olive oil and nuts, flavonoids and other phytochemicals from fruit and other plant foods and large amounts of natural folates and other B vitamins in the overall Mediterranean dietary pattern may exert a fair degree of protection against depression.”