Lower Depression Risk With Your Diet

I recently wrote about the DASH diet when U.S. News & World Report listed it as one of the “Top 3 Diets for 2018.” The diet encourages eating vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products and very few foods that are high in saturated fats and sugar, in order to help with lowering blood pressure, bad cholesterol (LDL) and body weight. Read more about that here.

 

A new study is showing that trying out this diet may have more effects than just those on your waistline!

 

This study shows that the DASH diet, short for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension,” may also lower your chances of developing depression.

 

This study was conducted over six and a half years, where participants were monitored for depression symptoms and filled out surveys along the way. The result? They found that participants who followed the DASH diet closely were 11% less likely to become depressed, compared to those who didn’t adhere to the diet. It also found that participants with diets high in saturated fats and red meats and low in fruits and vegetables were more likely to develop depression.

 

This popular diet was created to lower blood pressure, but it sounds to me like it has some other lasting results. Just a good reminder that something as simple as your diet can affect you in multiple ways!

 

It’s never too late in life to change eating or exercise habits! The medical effects of both can be wide-ranging and very beneficial in many ways.