British Study shows poor food choices may increase depression
A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that Englishmen, who ate mainly fruit, vegetables and fish. were less likely to get depression 6 years later, compared to those who were heavy meat and bread eaters. This study had similar findings to a recent one which found that a Mediterranean diet was associated with less depressive symptoms. The authors of the British study had previously shown, in the same population, that fatness around the middle (visceral obesity), high triglyceride fats and a low, good (HDL) cholesterol also predicted the onset of depression. While these studies do not clearly separate whether bad eating habits cause depression or vice verse, their study design supports the concept that certain foods may be the culprit. The link may be that people who eat meat and foods rich in saturated fats have elevated triglyceride levels. We have previously shown in animals that triglycerides enter the brain and can alter nerve function.
Previous intervention studies have found that exercise can reduce depressive symptoms. These studies all suggest a healthy lifestyle can decrease depressive symptoms. For many depressed persons this is extraordinarily difficult to do. Perhaps it is time for health insurance to pay for a personal trainer and aggressive dietary training.
The BOTTOM LINE is that we have even more evidence that we are what we eat. Small neurochemicals in the brain decide what we eat and how much. These same neurochemicals alter our behavior. Increased awareness of this may allow us to make better life choices, leading to a happier life. Recognizing this should make us help our children to make better food choices and do more exercise.
Loading ...
Dammert Professor of Gerontology and
Director, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Director, Gateway Geriatric Education Center
Department of Internal Medicine
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
and Director, GRECC,
St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center 
please describe ‘aggressive dietary training’
AS with exercise training a personal trainer is a major ingredient for long term adherence, I believe a similar approach should be used to dietary training.This should consist originally of an individualised dietary plan. This should be followed by dietary education classes and atleast one trip to the supermarket to teach the person how to use food labelling. Follow-up for the first year should consist of a vist to dietitian or food trainer every two weeks, where the person is not only weighed but food diaries are examined. Sessions should include solid support.Many persons will need regular follow up on a monthly basis for many years. This is an expensive proposition but most probably cheaper than multiple expensive medicines and hospital admissions.Especially if you include time lost from work in persons who are depressed. I would be interested to see others thoughts on this approach.
Well, by the looks of all of the overweight people in this world and in the medical field…there are a lot of “depressed” people…such a shame that those who call themselves experts in the medical field are so overweight and possibly depressed
While it’s true that there are health risks associated with excessive dietary intakes of nutrients such as saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, sodium, and sugar, obesity is a multi-causal issue that requires a comprehensive solution. If we’re going to tackle obesity, let’s start taxing total calories. It will be much easier to raise revenue if all nutrients are treated equally as they are in the calories in-calories out body weight equation. All calories count and balancing food and beverage calories with regular physical activity is what ultimately determines ones body mass index (BMI), a tool used to gauge health risks based on height and weight.
As a consultant to the food and beverage industry and a Registered Dietitian (RD), who practices in Southern California, I must say that it’s very ironic to me that we are challenging obesity through taxation. If we weren’t in such economic turmoil, would the controversy still be there? In the past 10 years, beverage calories have decreased, yet obesity rates continue to escalate. This fact and other studies show support for education, not taxation as all calories can be consumed in moderation while maintaining health and preventing disease such as obesity.