INSTITUTO UNIVERSITARIO DE
LENGUAS
PASLE A2
Eating healthy
food may
lower
depression
risk
Following a diet rich in fruits and
vegetables and low in processed food
may be helpful in preventing depression,
according to a large new study.
To lower the risk of depression, "People
can eat everything, but everything in
moderation," as long as they try to eat lots
of vegetables, fruits, nuts and fish, and
avoid fast food and processed meats, said
study author Almudena Sanchez-Villegas
of the University of Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria.
At the start of the study, researchers
asked 15,000 Spanish university
graduates who never had depression
what they normally ate. Then they asked
them again, 10 years later.
The researchers looked at how closely the
participants' everyday diets adhered to
three healthy diet patterns that involved
consuming high amounts of fruits,
vegetables, legumes, nuts and fish, and
avoiding processed meats. These
principles are part of the Mediterranean
diet and other healthy diets.
After 8.5 years, 1,550 people in the study
reported being diagnosed with depression
or using antidepressant drugs.
The researchers found that the people in
the study who stuck to the healthy
patterns to a moderate or a high extent
had a lower risk of depression than those
who did not follow these diets at all, or
who adhered to them to a low degree.
For example, the risk of depression over
the study period for the people who
moderately adhered to the Mediterranean
diet was about 25 to 30 percent lower
than for those who did not adhere to the
diet at all, or who adhered to it only to a
very small extent, the researchers found.
[7 Ways to Recognize Depression in 20-
Somethings]
"Even a moderate adherence to these
healthy dietary patterns was associated
with an important reduction in the risk of
developing depression," Sanchez-Villegas
told Live Science.
Moreover, the researchers saw no extra
benefit for depression risk when
participants followed the diets very
closely, compared with moderate
adherence, she said.
The researchers don't know for sure what
may explain the link between these
dietary patterns and people's risk of
depression. However, one potential
mechanism is that people who follow
these patterns may have a lower risk of
depression because they get adequate
levels of some micronutrients, such as B
vitamins, folate or zinc all of which are
essential to brain health, Sanchez-
Villegas said.
Conversely, the people who don’t follow
these patterns may have a higher risk of
depression because of their nutrient
deficits, she said.
Sanchez-Villegas' previous research,
published in 2006 and 2009, also showed
Taken from: FOX NEWS – Health section http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/09/21/eating-healthy-foods-may-lower-
depression-risk/ Task created and adapted by Karol Adrian Meza
