A Mediterranean-style dietary intervention supplemented with fish oil improves diet quality and mental health in people with depression: A randomized controlled trial (HELFIMED)

Summary & key facts

Researchers ran a trial with adults who had depression to test whether switching to a Mediterranean-style diet and taking fish oil could help mood. About 150 people joined. One group got food deliveries and cooking classes every two weeks for three months plus fish oil for six months. The other group met socially every two weeks. After three months the diet group ate more vegetables, fruit, nuts, legumes and wholegrains and fewer unhealthy snacks and red meat. That group also had a small but meaningful drop in depression symptoms and better mental-health quality of life. Those improvements were still seen at six months. The study shows healthy diet changes are possible and, when combined wit

Key facts:

• About 150 adults with self-reported or diagnosed depression took part. Around 95 people finished the three-month checks and about 85 finished the six-month checks.
• The intervention group received food hampers and cooking workshops every two weeks for three months, and fish oil supplements for six months. The comparison group attended social meetings every two weeks for three months.
• After three months the diet group ate more vegetables, fruit, nuts, legumes, wholegrains, and a wider variety of vegetables. They also ate fewer unhealthy snacks and less red meat or chicken.
• The diet group showed a greater reduction in depression symptoms at three months and better mental-health quality of life. These gains were still present at six months.
• People who improved their overall Mediterranean-style diet score, ate more nuts, and increased vegetable variety tended to have larger drops in depression symptoms.
• Because the diet group also got fish oil, and some people were already getting other treatments, the study cannot say for sure whether the mood improvements were caused by the diet alone, the fish oil alone, or a mix of both.

Abstract

This is one of the first randomized controlled trials to show that healthy dietary changes are achievable and, supplemented with fish oil, can improve mental health in people with depression.

Topics

Diet and metabolism studies Fatty Acid Research and Health Nutritional Studies and Diet

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Physiology

Tags

Biology Depression (economics) Economics Environmental health Fish Fish oil Fishery Internal medicine Intervention (counseling) Macroeconomics Medicine Mediterranean diet Mental health Psychiatry Psychology Randomized controlled trial

Substances

Other

Conditions & symptoms

Depression Lack of energy or motivation Sadness or low mood