Many of us recognize the need to be as healthy as possible. We exercise, try to get enough sleep and we try to eat the right foods.
For the majority of our lives, most of us have been told to eat our fruits and vegetables because it is good for us. We recognize that there is some truth to it, but just how much truth is there?
A study published in BMC provides us with more information about the type of diet we should be eating. This is not only true for our physical health, but there may even be some information for depression prevention and management, just by eating the right type of food.
The study looks into the Mediterranean style diets, showing how they ‘have been associated with a nearly 35 percent reduced risk of depression’. It goes on to say that ‘although the specific food groups that underlie these findings remain unclear, citrus, including oranges and grapefruits, have recently been linked with lower depression risk’
According to some increasing data, the microbiome in the gut may also have an impact on mental illness as well. That is where things needed to be tested out with the study.
The study utilized more than 32,400 participants. It ‘analyzed the interplay between citrus consumption, the gut microbiome, and risk of depression.’
It also claims to be one of the first studies of its kind to do so in depth.
An original study of over 116,000 female registered nurses took place in 1989. They were sent questionnaires every two years to collect data on their lifestyle and medical history.
In 1991, they were then sent out food frequency questionnaires every four years. Depression information started to be collected in 2003.
There were some who skipped sending in the data but the study then looked in on over 32,000 middle-aged women who were followed up with the baselines until 2017. They were asked, in part, how often they consumed a ‘standard serving’ of certain food items.
The study says: “For citrus consumption, participants were asked how often (never to six or more servings per day) they consumed grapefruit, oranges, grapefruit juice, and orange juice over the preceding year. Total citrus intake was calculated by combining the consumption of each individual product.”
The study looked into other potential dietary factors by asking participants if they were diagnosed with depression every two years and if they used antidepressants. It was trying to connect a higher intake of citrus and the impact it would have on our microbiome.
The study said: “From 2003 through 2017, we identified 2173 cases of depression among 32,427 women free of self-reported physician/clinician-diagnosed depression and regular use of antidepressants at baseline.
“Over 222,923 person-years of follow-up, compared to participants in the lowest quintile of citrus consumption, those in the highest quintile had a 22 percent lower risk of depression.”
The study then looked into whether a risk of depression was reduced by the total fruit or total vegetable rather than just citrus fruit.
Raaj Mehta, the Harvard Medical School instructor and Massachusetts General Hospital physician who led the study said: “The effect seems to be specific to citrus. When we look at people’s total fruit or vegetable consumption, or at other individual fruits such as apples or bananas, we don’t see any relationship between intake and risk of depression.”
This effect can be seen by ‘eating one medium orange a day’.
Although it is admitted that more research is needed, this may just be something to keep in mind.
