A new study conducted by the experts of the Sydney University of Technology showed that the Mediterranean diet can improve symptoms in depressed young men. Depression is a mood disorder that affects 3.8% of the world’s population.
The study was published in the scientific journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Mediterranean diet: a choice for psychophysical health
The Mediterranean diet has recently been experiencing its golden age thanks to several researches that have shown that it is a dietary lifestyle that has a positive impact on health: improves the gut microbiome and helps prevent neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
According to the Sidney scientists, the Mediterranean diet is also a valuable aid in young men diagnosed with depression, a mood disorder that causes a person to have negative thoughts, feelings and actions. Depressed people are constantly sad, resulting in a general lack of interest in the activities they once enjoyed.
Other symptoms you may experience are: lack of appetite; insomnia; fatigue; anger and irritability; agitation and / or restlessness; difficulty thinking or concentrating; sense of guilt or worthlessness; unexplained physical pain and thoughts of death and / or suicide. researchers have estimated that depression affects 3.8 percent of the world population and that suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 29.
Women are twice as likely to be affected by depression as men, and the symptoms are sometimes different as well. For example, in one study it was observed that men may be more likely than women to experience depression through feelings of anger or drug abuse.
According to Jessica Bayesresearcher at lSydney University of Technology, Faculty of Health, and lead author of this study, along with her research team decided to focus on young men between the ages of 18 and 25 for this study because young men are less likely to look for symptoms of mental distress: “We urgently need more effective evidence-based treatment strategies to help depression that attract young men, ”said the expert:“ The Mediterranean diet could be an excellent first step towards recovery ”.
Bayes, along with his study group, led one 12-week randomized control study involving 72 male participants aged 18-25 with moderate to severe depression. Volunteers were randomly selected to receive dietary support by learning to feed themselves through a Mediterranean diet or by being encouraged to make friends: the scholar spoke to the participant about neutral topics, such as movies or hobbies.
At the end of the study, the researchers reported that 100% of the participants in the Mediterranean diet support group experienced an improvement in symptoms of depression.
In that group, 36% of the cases experienced a decline in Beck Depression Inventory Scale (BDI-II) , up to a score of 0-10 (low or minimal depression). While there was also a decline in the average score in the friendship group, all of the participants’ scores in the friendship group remained at the moderate to severe level of depression by the end of the study.
This is the first study involving young men diagnosed with moderate to severe depression: “We were surprised by the speed with which the positive effects were observed and the willingness of the participants to continue the diet at the end of the process “Bayes explained: ” Almost all of our participants stayed with the program and many were eager to continue the diet once the study was over, which shows how effective, tolerable and useful they found the intervention.
doctor David A. Merrillpsychiatrist and director of the Pacific Brain Health Center of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monicain California, was very enthusiastic about the results of this research. According to Merrill, the Mediterranean diet provides a bio-psycho-social model for the treatment of depression: “Men tend to have poor diets in general and tend to work towards affordable fast foods that are nutritionally poor or suboptimal. This kind of nutrition intervention is about biology: it can improve micronutrient status for individuals, things like […] elements of pro-cognitive and pro-mood support and proteins that are precursors of neurotransmitters such as serotonin“.
“Also tending to have a social component […] in terms of preparation, food invites collaboration, like a partnership with family members, loved ones, cooks, chefs, which becomes a social pushThe expert continued, stating that the Mediterranean diet could be an easier lifestyle change for people to adopt than other diets such as ketogenic and intermittent fasting.
“One of the reasons the Mediterranean-style diet may be one of the most effective nutritional interventions is that people tend to follow it at higher rates. People tend to stop doing limiting diets once they have finished a structured process. It is true that food must be enjoyable, supportive and social. Fortunately, the Mediterranean diet fits all of this and is also very nutritious”Concluded Merrill.
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