Can Diet Help With Depression?
Is it all ‘old wives tales’?
A person’s health is strongly influenced by their diet. Slogans such as ‘you are what you eat’ help emphasise the importance of thinking about our food. Furthermore, where it comes from. For generations our ancestors have used the saying ‘everything in moderation’. Unfortunately, many ignore the ‘old wives tales’. However, these phrases originate from someone’s experience. They tend to have a significant element of truth. Sometimes we only need to think about the words to realise what they mean. Consider the moderation example. Maybe it is common sense that an excess of anything could be damaging to our health. However, can diet help with depression?
One aspect of the age of research in which we are currently living is that more often than not these phrases, suspicions or best guesses of our ancestors are being proven empirically. As written here, by The Independent newspaper, the Mediterranean diet is now being linked with prevention of depression. Whilst the exact ‘old wives tale’ relating depression and extra virgin olive oil escapes me, I remember since my childhood much talk about this diet ‘being good’ but no-one really knowing why.
Or can evidence prove what people have known for centuries?
As evidence for a particular diet goes, this is a fairly small scale study. There is a long way to go before we are adopting the Mediterranean way of life, however it is a start. In the meantime, maybe we should all check in with some of those phrases we remember and wonder what truth they may hold for us today. For the time being, it appears that the answer to ‘can diet help with depression?’ is a tentative ‘yes!’.
If you have enjoyed reading this post, please have a look at my home page and the rest of my blog. I offer counselling sessions, based in Fishponds (BS16) and central Bristol (BS2), at a pace that feels comfortable and safe.