Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
A pilot study from UC San Francisco indicates that reducing ultra-processed food intake by 85% may lead to significant improvements in depression symptoms. Researchers emphasize that these foods are engineered to be addictive, making dietary changes difficult.
Why it matters
This research highlights the potential link between modern industrial diets and mental health, suggesting nutrition as a factor in psychiatric care.
A small preliminary study from UC San Francisco adds to mounting evidence that eating fewer ultra-processed foods may help reduce symptoms of depression.
Published Sept. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry , the study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers believe it is the first study to compare depression symptoms in the same participants before and after they moved from their usual ultra-processed diet to healthier foods.
The pilot study included only 20 people, but senior author Andrew Krystal, MD, Ray and Dagmar Dolby Distinguished Professor in UCSF's departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Neurology, said it "successfully established the viability of carrying out this research in a larger-scale trial."
Depression Symptoms Improved After a Major Diet Shift
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