Depression risk and olive oil
People whose diets are high in trans fats – fast foods and mass-produced foods like pastries – may have a higher risk of depression, compared with those whose diets are rich in mono- and polyunsaturated fats.
According to a study carried out at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain and published in PLoS ONE,olive oil appears to have a slight protective effect regarding depression risk.
Dr. Almudena Sánchez-Villegas and colleagues added that their findings stood even after taking into account people’s overall diet, physical activity and lifestyle.
The research team gathered and analyzed data on 12,000 volunteers over a period of 6 years. Their average age at the start of the study was 37.5 years. They had all regularly completed a 136-item questionnaire which had information on their dietary habits, lifestyle, and physical and mental health.
The investigators counted the number of people with depression at the start of the study and then again during each follow-up. Cases of depression had to be those clinically diagnosed by a doctor.
The study authors found that when they compared the volunteers who consumed trans fats regularly with individuals whose dietary fat consisted primarily of olive oil, the trans fat consumers had a 48% higher risk of developing depression.
The amount of trans fat consumed was directly related to depression risk – the more they ate, the higher the risk.
