Responding to the Molecular Psychiatry study into the link between diet and depression, Dr Cosmo Hallstrom said: “It is a widely-held concept that the food you eat influences how you feel so it is good to hear of some scientific evidence that supports that.
“We know that inflammation and depression is under review and here we have a possible mechanism to explain how pro-inflammatory foods may increase the risk of depression and anti-inflammatory foods may reduce that risk.
“That said, the risk of someone becoming depressed in mid-life who hasn’t been depressed before is low. So you could be talking about only increasing a low risk by a little.
“Secondly, people who have the energy and drive to eat Mediterranean food such as dates and pulses are more likely to be happy and in control of their lives than people who live off junk food.
“Research into this area involves many complicating factors, but this study does seem to provide a new piece of the jigsaw puzzle.”
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