",,,well-known link between food and mood.,,,"

Mood, that is the question.
I don't think it has anything to do with depression.

Couldn't it also be that people who are already depressed are less likely to feel like preparing food from scratch? Easier to get takeout or warm up a frozen dinner when you're feeling low...

I the renowned fraud and well paid researcher Dr. Thadious Thunkinstien have done my own through science based study not directly funded by the Pharmaceutical Industry, Comedy PsychCentral, or the NIH.

I have found and concluded unequivocally in this triple blind unsound study covering myself and motivated volunteers. Beer and Pizza; followed by some rich dark chocolate and a damn good cigar are completely psych neutral in 98% of participants. (the other 2% passed out early on in the study, or had preexisting conditions that prevented the validity of their participation to be significant in final statistical outcomes)

Further analysis of critical data and criteria shows no leading indicators or irritants within generically biochemical markers related to all pathogenic psychological disease of the prostrate or other related organs including the brain.

I hope this comes as welcome and possibly even remarkable news at this present juncture within the realms of modern psychological research.

**Side Note** upon release of this ground breaking study; pizza, beer, and chocolate manufacturing stocks across the board rose to new 3 years highs on Wall Street. In further news: negotiations with Cuba on a new free trade agreement has been rumored to be warming up like a freshly lit cigar. Critic's in Washington DC debunked this rumor as a lot of smoke and mirrors.

Dr. Thadious Thunkinstien has undisclosed ties to GSK, AstraZeneca,AnhauserBusch,Pyramid Ale,Samual Adams and Pizza Hut.

Senator Grassley needs to investigate Thunkinstien and his cohort who shall remain nameless, though rumor has it that he has been hired in Florida at an unknown, but soon to be corrupt University within swimming distance of Cuba.

makes me wonder how this study could have possibly controlled for all the other factors that influence one's mood and/or one's diet.

This is something that shrinks who work in psych hospitals just can't seem to understand - when you put someone who is depressed in an environment where they're given high fat, high carb meals, little to no fresh air or sunshine, make them sit in a circle all day, and talk to them like their idiots it just reinforces depression. It's never made sense to me that this kind of environment would improve mood.

Imagine what it would be like if they actually encouraged healthy behaviors - healthy diet, fresh air and sunshine, opportunities to actually move around, and treating adults like adults. What a concept!

I'm glad to see in the BBC article that they tried to confirm the direction of causality, of diet leading to depression, not just a correlation between the two. But I also think depression contributes to worse eating habits for many people.

I mean "they're" not their.

I'm embarrassed to say how many years it took me to figure out that I feel MUCH better when I eat properly (i.e. nothing from a box). No, it doesn't cure my depression. But I just feel better and am able to cope with life much more easily.

It's difficult, however, in the US to eat well. It's really swimming against the tide. The advertising, the hidden fats, sugars, chemicals mean I have to stay on my toes and go out of my way to do something that should be natural and easy.

I always seem to do best in nearly third-world countries where the pace of life is slow and the food always seasonal and local.

Processed foods are often loaded with fat, grease, and oil. If you've been living on Mars, you probably do not understand why these things could tip your weight towards the danger zone. Since this is very unlikely, it is completely understandable why you cannot afford to ingest too many fats during meals. Processed meals are convenient--conveniently overloaded with fats.