Mixed
A brief (3-week) diet intervention emphasizing increased intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats while reducing processed foods, saturated fats, and refined sugars significantly reduces symptoms of depression in young adults with elevated baseline symptoms.
If you are a young adult struggling with low mood, try a 3-week experiment: significantly increase your intake of vegetables (5 servings/day), fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats (nuts, olive oil), while cutting back on processed foods, sugar, and fatty meats. You do not need to be perfect; even partial adherence can lead to noticeable improvements in depressive symptoms within weeks. Consider using a meal plan or getting help with grocery shopping to make it easier.
The Diet group had significantly lower self-reported depression symptoms than the Control Group on the CESD-R (p = 0.007, Cohen’s d = 0.65) and DASS-21 depression subscale (p = 0.002, Cohen’s d = 0.75) controlling for baseline scores on these scales.
Why this rating
Randomized Controlled Trial with moderate effect sizes, good compliance, and objective compliance measures (spectrophotometry), though limited by short duration and self-reported primary outcomes.
Source
A brief diet intervention can reduce symptoms of depression in young adults – A randomised controlled trial
Heather Francis et al. · PLoS ONE · 2019
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0222768
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