Kids & Family
Food As Medicine: The Mediterranean Diet And Depression
This truly goes to the core of the saying, You are what you eat.
This column was written by Giovanni Campanile, MD, Integrative Medicine and Nutrition, and Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation at Morristown Medical Center/ Atlantic Health System. He also has an office in Caldwell. To contact Campanile, call (862) 260-3188.
Inflammation is now known to be the root cause of many degenerative diseases such as heart disease, cancer, depression, arthritis and many other serious problems. Diets rich in red meat, high-fructose corn syrup and refined grains can cause inflammation in our bodies.
As I discussed in a previous posting, the Mediterranean Diet, which is the best anti-inflammatory diet, can reduce heart disease by an astounding 70 percent.
Now there is evidence that a Mediterranean diet can also improve mental health.
In the Nurses’ Health Study, researchers studied the nutrition and diets of 43,685 women who did have depression before enrolling in the study and then followed them for 12 years.
Using measurable lab tests and questionnaires associated with depression and physician’s assessment, the researchers found that the women who consumed an inferior Standard American Diet (SAD) as compared to those women who consumed an anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean style diet, had a remarkable 40 percent increased incidence of depression.
This truly goes to the core of the saying, You are what you eat.
When we consume the foods that we have co-evolved with, our genes are happy, our bodies are happy and our minds are happy. The phytonutrients contained in the colorful spectrum of a variety of vegetables, fruits and grains affect our genes for the better.
Previous posts by Giovanni Campanile:
As I discussed in a previous posting, the Mediterranean Diet, which is the best anti-inflammatory diet, can reduce heart disease by an astounding 70 percent.
Now there is evidence that a Mediterranean diet can also improve mental health.
In the Nurses’ Health Study, researchers studied the nutrition and diets of 43,685 women who did have depression before enrolling in the study and then followed them for 12 years.
Using measurable lab tests and questionnaires associated with depression and physician’s assessment, the researchers found that the women who consumed an inferior Standard American Diet (SAD) as compared to those women who consumed an anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean style diet, had a remarkable 40 percent increased incidence of depression.
This truly goes to the core of the saying, You are what you eat.
When we consume the foods that we have co-evolved with, our genes are happy, our bodies are happy and our minds are happy. The phytonutrients contained in the colorful spectrum of a variety of vegetables, fruits and grains affect our genes for the better.
Previous posts by Giovanni Campanile:
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