Nutrition prevents anxiety and depression in women

A diet rich in B vitamins, omega 3, and antioxidants helps protect mental health and well-being. This relationship is especially evident in women who faithfully follow guidelines for healthy eating, who have been found to have a 49% lower chance of suffering from anxiety and a 45% lower chance of depression compared to those who do not follow a healthy diet. Similarly, young people up to 40 years old with good dietary habits have a reduced risk of over 50% of developing anxiety and depressive disorders.

This emerges from a study conducted by researchers at the University of Isfahan (Iran) and recently published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Anxiety and depression are related to lifestyle

Psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety represent major public health problems worldwide. Depression negatively affects health status, quality of life, and work capacity, and contributes to many disabilities, chronic diseases, and mortality. Anxiety disorder is often accompanied by somatic symptoms such as fatigue, loss of energy, feelings of slowing down or agitation. The etiology of depression and anxiety is not fully known; however, various environmental, psychological, and genetic factors can contribute to these conditions.

Some modifiable risk factors by changing lifestyle include obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, and poor nutrition, which appear associated with mental disorders. Several studies have examined modifiable lifestyle factors linked to some mental illnesses, but most focused on the relationship of a single wrong behavior rather than the overall lifestyle. In an investigation from the well-known National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), associations between dietary behaviors, physical activity, and smoking habits were examined as independent risk factors for depression.

Results revealed a dose-response relationship between the simultaneous occurrence of these behaviors and depressive symptoms; however, obesity and psychological distress, two major risk factors for mental disorders, were not considered. Previous research has demonstrated a protective association between adherence to healthy eating guidelines and mental disorders in Western countries, while data are scarce for other regions such as the Middle East, where cultural factors lead women to engage in less physical activity than men.

Healthy eating: those who follow it suffer less from mental disorders

In the new study, researchers examined the association between adherence to Iranian healthy eating guidelines, measured using the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010), and the prevalence of anxiety and depression in healthy adult subjects. The AHEI-2010 index assesses the "healthiness" of a diet by considering intake of 11 food groups and nutrients: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and omega-3 (DHA and EPA), alcohol, sugary beverages and fruit juices, red and processed meats, saturated fats, and salt. Results showed that higher adherence to AHEI-2010 was associated with a lower rate of anxiety and depression, especially in women, for whom there was a 49% lower chance of suffering anxiety and 45% lower chance of depression, and in young people up to 40 years old who showed a reduced risk, respectively, of 58% and 51% of suffering from these two common mental disorders.

B vitamins, antioxidant molecules, and polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are, according to researchers, potential elements involved in mental well-being. The study’s authors hypothesized several explanations for the link between healthy eating and better mental health: the high content of folates and other B vitamins, and antioxidants could reduce neuronal damage caused by free radicals (oxidative stress). Additionally, another possible neuroprotective mechanism could be due to the high levels of omega-3 present in fatty fish, in agreement with other studies carried out in recent years.

In particular, the anti-inflammatory properties of some foods included in AHEI-2010 could reduce concentrations of substances, monoamines, present in certain foods, which can negatively affect the nervous system.

Some details of the study

The research, conducted in two phases, was carried out as part of the "Study on the Epidemiology of Psychological-Alimentary Health and Nutrition," a project involving Iranian adults employed in 50 health centers affiliated with the University of Isfahan. During the study, researchers assessed adherence to healthy eating in 3,663 adults who completed two questionnaires: one, the AHEI-2010, on dietary behaviors such as frequency of consumption and portion sizes of certain foods; the other, the Iranian