Is it true that malnutrition leads to depression?

Scientists from around the world have repeatedly proventhe relationship between malnutrition and the onset of depression. However, it was still not clear to them whether depression is the cause of eating junk food, or is a love of junk food and other junk food leading to mental illness? The Australian scientists decided to find the answer to this question by conducting a small study involving several dozen volunteers. The results of the work, perhaps, will force you to refuse chips and other unnatural food and be interested in proper nutrition.

Depressed people are most prone to the wrong diet.

76 were invited to participate in the study.students who have previously experienced some symptoms of depression. As in most similar studies, participants were divided into two groups. The first group of students became a control and continued to eat without any changes. That is, if they wanted to eat harmful fast food, they could do it without problems. The participants of the second group, in turn, received a strict diet with an abundance of exclusively natural and healthy products.

An easy way to get rid of depression?

Three weeks later, scientists invited the subjects toto myself. It turned out that the second group of students, who adhered to a healthy diet, began to feel much better over time. At the same time, young people from the first group still felt the symptoms of depression. After 21% of the participants from the second group continued to adhere to the correct diet and felt a positive effect on themselves, the scientists were able to put forward a very interesting assumption. In their opinion, it is the wrong diet that causes depression, and not vice versa.

By the way, previously scientists studied the relationship of depression and dependence on smartphones

The consequences of malnutrition

However, with the results of the study, it is still possibleargue. Even the researchers themselves noticed that the placebo effect could be the reason for the improvement in students. The fact is that they were all aware that they are switching to a healthy diet - even the very realization of this fact could improve their health status. In addition, only seven dozen people participated in the study, and the results of a larger work are needed to reach a final verdict.

Proper nutrition can save people from depression

Do you eat right? Share your answers in the comments or in our Telegram chat.

However, the results are still impossibledepreciate completely. Improper nutrition with an abundance of fatty, overly spicy and unnatural food undoubtedly harms the human body. For example, in one of our materials, we talked about the dangers of convenience foods. Numerous studies have shown that eating processed foods can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease. Also, improper nutrition almost always leads to obesity - in a couple of weeks you can gain a kilogram of excess weight.

The best diet

Many might have a question - which onesstudents ate nutritional foods? According to the researchers, their diet included many foods from the so-called Mediterranean diet. We are talking about bread and pasta, fruits, olive oil, dairy products like yogurt and cheese, as well as a moderate amount of fish and various types of meat.

Components of the Mediterranean diet. Source: Pinterest

In conclusion, I want to recommend ourspecial material on whether an ideal diet actually exists. The founder of the GooD FooD Academy healthy food delivery Evgeny Smirnov and the geneticist Yu.I. Davydova shared their opinions on this matter.