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Depression is an important health condition due to its high prevalence and the personal suffering it entails. Following a Mediterranean dietary pattern may have beneficial effects on mental health. In the multicentre PREDIDEP trial, researchers evaluated the effect of a dietary intervention based on the Mediterranean diet enriched with Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on improving health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients recovered from depression. In this randomized trial, participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Mediterranean diet or control (without nutritional intervention). HRQoL was assessed with the validated Spanish version of the SF-36 Health Survey at baseline and at 1-year and 2-year follow-up. This questionnaire measures eight dimensions of health status: physical functioning, role limitations due to physical problems, tolerance, general health perceptions, vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health. After two years of follow-up, the intervention group consuming a Mediterranean diet enriched with EVOO, compared to the control group, showed an increase in Mental health, Vitality, Mental Summary Component and General Health. The results were consistent when the analyses were restricted to participants aged 60 or more years. A Mediterranean diet enriched with EVOO may be effective to improve the quality of life of patients recovered from depression. Dementia is a global public health issue because of its large social cost. A high adherence to the Mediterranean diet enriched with EVOO might reduce the risk of dementia. In the UK Biobank multi-centre prospective cohort study, a team of researchers evaluated the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and dementia incidence. Two scores were used to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet: the MedDiet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) score and the MedDiet PYRAMID score. Participants who had a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet had a lower risk of incident all-cause dementia, independent of genetic risk. Compared to those who had the lowest adherence to Mediterranean diet, those with the highest adherence, had 23% lower risk of dementia. Click HERE to see the latest posts…
