Research
Mixed
Adherence to a healthy dietary pattern (rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, and olive oil) is associated with a reduced likelihood of developing depression.
Focus on building a diet rich in plant-based foods, whole grains, and quality proteins like fish. This pattern is consistently linked to lower depression risk across different cultures. You don't need to be perfect; just increasing these foods while reducing processed items can help.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The results suggested that higher intakes of a ‘healthy’ diet (i.e. fruit, vegetables, fish, and whole grains) were associated with a reduced likelihood of depression (OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.92).
Why this rating
Based on multiple systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies showing consistency across countries and age groups, though causality is harder to prove than in RCTs.
Source
Nutritional Psychiatry: Where to Next?
Felice N. Jacka · EBioMedicine · 2017
DOI 10.1016/j.ebiom.2017.02.020
narrative_reviewCited 240×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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