Yes, the observational studies show that those eating this diet have better health. At the same time, no one can figure out what the secret ingedient is. Is it the olive oil? The garlic? They are looking in the wrong place. The people who are following the Mediterranean diet are people who live in a social context of a loving, supportive extended family. There is a mom or aunt or grandmother preparing these meals. With love. In these types of families, in which we used to all live, no one cooks for themselves or eats alone, or suffers life's slings and arrows alone. Outside of these types of socail settings, we live our independent lives, far from our family, with little immediate family social support. Google "Roseto Effect" to get a glimpse into the health differences between people who follow a grandma-cooked diet and those who don't.

I am more inclined to believe that it is the whole "Western" lifestyle that is responsible for the presence of depression and anxiety rather than merely the diet, even though the ingredients in processed foods as well as the decreased nutritional value surely plays a key role in our overall health and well-being.

How to tell good food from bad food is simple, how fast does it biodegrade?, as in rot, as in turn back into soil. If bacteria and fungi wont eat it, you shouldn't eat too much of it. Most processed food is designed to have a high shelf life for maximum profit.

This kind of research tells us almost nothing other than depressed people eat more crappy food not that crappy food causes depression. Do not fall into such simplistic thinking with junk science.Who pays for this garbage when people still die from malaria? "Nutritional deficiency" as cause has about as much intellectual rigor as "serotonin deficits".

I think medsvstherapy has a point!

One can't really separate mind and body though. Bad nutrition does influence our emotional state and mental abilities and that, unlike hypotheses about serotonin deficiency, has some solid evidence behind it. It's only one part of the picture though.

If there's anything in the Mediterranean diet that could improve mental health it's probably Omega 3 fatty acids.

RE Dr John "depressed people eat more crappy food not that crappy food causes depression".
People make choices. If people are stupid (they are) or easily influenced by advertising, they will buy and eat tasty food thats crappy.
Chicken and egg paradox of which came first.
My opinion is that psychiatric drugs make people stupid.
Stupid people make impulsive choices that benefit short-term needs. Tastes good? Eat it.
USA Today 5/3/2007 LINK

"Adults with serious mental illness treated in public systems die about 25 years earlier than Americans overall, a gap that's widened since the early '90s when major mental disorders cut life spans by 10 to 15 years, according to a report due Monday.
...
Obesity is a serious problem. These patients often get little exercise, and many take a newer type of anti-psychotic, on the market for 18 years, that can cause drastic weight gains, promoting diabetes and heart disease, Parks says."

I think there are many links between misery and crappy food. One is poverty. Cheap, processed food is all a lot of people can afford. That fact in itself could cause a lot of depression because contrary to popular belief, everyone would rather eat a delicious meal at a beautiful, fancy restaurant than a Big Mac. But a Big Mac is affordable. Fresh seafood and vegetables and fruit, for many people aren't.

If anyone has ever used or volunteered at a food bank, then you know what is given, are cheap pasta (mac and cheese boxes) jars of peanut butter, canned tuna, etc. nothing fresh, if they are lucky fresh produce and fruit is available.

When I packed up bags of food for clients, it always came in a box or can, which obviously will have less nutrition than fresh foods.

The antipsychotics cause weight gain that is difficult to control when metabolism is permanently changed, so good luck to depressed people who take Abilify or Seroquel with the impression that the drugs are anti depressants, when in fact they are re-marketed antipsychotics that should be used with extreme caution in my opinion.

I think, poverty and depression and life situations all do go hand in hand, and a little support from people in the real world can help those in need.

Try working at a food bank for a few months a get to know the clients, you learn a lot about human dignity.
Frankly, a McDonald's Big Mac meal is over 6 bucks with tax; that 6 dollars DOES go a long way in the produce department--spinach, oranges, peppers, tomato, all can be purchased instead of junk if someone has the cash.

Is there any study about starvation and depression? I will search for it and I would like to find a search that explains what kind of depression food, of lack of, can trigger.
What are the symptoms? Is there any difference between depressed people who eat well and those who eat junk food?
I happen to know a man whose mother only eats health and good food - a kind of vegetarian or vegan.
She was depressed got well and her son is depressed now in a way that she is the one that goes to talk to the psychiatrist.
I always see her very happy at the hospital complaining of how difficult her life is with her poor son in bed. She is always smiling...
Hmmm...
The boy, I have already seen him once, is getting worse and changing from an antidepressant to another.
I have already given her the number of a therapist that could find a good therapy for free.
She didn't contact this therapist.
Last time I saw her I told her that she could search for one of the most great psychoanalysts in Rio de Janeiro at that time only walking 50 steps.
She was "in a hurry".
Okay...

Co-dependence is very hard.

I digressed. Sorry.

Anyway... not blaming only the brain is already a good start.
I'm almost sure that in a very long future the specialization in the medicine field will be regarded as something of the past.

As far as Omega 3 is concerned:
"By taking in more omega-3s, we're essentially re-equilibrating the ratio," says David Mischoulon, MD, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School."

Harvard?

hehe

Why Fish Helps Aid the Blues

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter (a chemical messenger in the brain) that is thought to affect one’s moods including depression and anxiety. Studies show that long-chain Omega 3s play a vital part in the brain’s reuptake of serotonin. Mood-elevating drugs work much in the same way, which may be why studies indicate that for individuals who take omega 3 depression is less of an issue or isn’t an issue at all.

Wow!
I thought that the serotonin theory was already history.
Instead of antidepressants Omega3...
no hideous side effects and no withdrawal problems seems to be the most important benefit.

Quote: "Frankly, a McDonald's Big Mac meal is over 6 bucks with tax; that 6 dollars DOES go a long way in the produce department--spinach, oranges, peppers, tomato, all can be purchased instead of junk if someone has the cash."

I have friends at or below the poverty level here in the Midwest. From what I see being bought at the grocery (or a lack of buying at the grocery, actually), very poor choices are being made in their selections. Boxed dinners, frozen dinners, etc. "I don't have time to fix dinner." "I don't feel 'up' to cooking." "Fresh costs too much." Those same excuses are made for buying fast food more often than something cooked with fresh ingredients.

Those same people try to convince me that it is actually cheaper for them to feed a family of three to 5 people at a fast food restaurant than it is to buy and cook at home. When I challenge them to show me on paper, most have refused. The ones that have actually written down their food spending figures have a figurative light bulb light up over their head when they realize that they are spending 150% - 200% more for prepared food than if they cook at home.

If the processed food *is* causing depression, couple that with watching their wallets empty due to costs of feeding the family, job (or lack of) woes, medical bills for family members, etc. and it is easy for me to see why people get overwhelmed.