Healthy Eating Linked to Lower Risk of Developing Depression
A new poll established a link between healthy dietary habits to lower probability of depression. It also confirmed that healthy eating leads to the lower likelihood of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart attack. The results are part of the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index.
Aside from reducing stress, the telephone survey conducted on 177,000 American adults throughout 2016 learned that each day of healthy living may have a cumulative effect on reducing an individual's likelihood of developing chronic diseases. However, the 63.2 percent who reported eating healthy in 2016 is the lowest since the poll began in 2008.
The study pointed out, however, that those who reported lower stress levels may also practice other good health habits, such as exercising regularly and managing stress effectively. It concedes, though, that a healthy citizenry can have positive and lasting effects on the economy, workplaces, and families.
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Gallup-Sharecare's findings confirm the conclusion of an earlier study of University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain. At the start of the research, 15,000 graduates who never had depression were asked about their usual diet. They were again asked 10 years later.
After eight and a half years, 1,550 respondents reported being diagnosed with depression or taking antidepressant drugs. On the other hand, those who stuck to healthy eating patterns had 25 to 30 percent lower risk of depression. A healthy diet involves consuming large amounts of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and fish, and avoiding processed meats.
"People can eat everything, but everything in moderation," study author Almudena Sanchez-Villegas told Live Science. "Even a moderate adherence to these healthy dietary patterns ... was associated with an important reduction in the risk of developing depression," Sanchez-Villegas added.
The study attributes the lower risk of depression of those who follow healthy eating patterns to the adequate levels of micronutrients they get like Vitamin B, folate, or zinc that are essential to brain health. Meanwhile, those who have higher depression risk are found to be nutrient deficient.
