{"id":5948,"date":"2017-03-24T14:00:07","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T21:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/?p=5948"},"modified":"2017-04-03T19:25:16","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T02:25:16","slug":"smiles-diet-depression-trial-reduced-depression-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/smiles-diet-depression-trial-reduced-depression-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"SMILES diet depression trial: reduced depression and anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The SMILES trial, A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression<\/a>\u00a0was recently published BMC Medicine.<\/em> It is the first randomized controlled trial to test whether dietary improvement can actually treat depression. <\/em> Yes, we\u2019re using dietary improvement and treat in the same sentence!<\/p>\n

The objective was to determine if \u201c<\/em>structured dietary support, focusing on improving diet quality using a modified Mediterranean diet model\u201d would have an impact on mood. The outcome is very exciting:<\/p>\n

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\u2018SMILES\u2019 was a 12-week, parallel-group, single blind, randomised controlled trial of an adjunctive dietary intervention in the treatment of moderate to severe depression. The intervention consisted of seven individual nutritional consulting sessions delivered by a clinical dietician. The control condition comprised a social support protocol to the same visit schedule and length.<\/p>\n

The results indicate that dietary improvement may provide an efficacious and accessible treatment strategy for the management of this highly prevalent mental disorder, the benefits of which could extend to the management of common co-morbidities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

These encouraging results were seen in participants who switched from a junk food diet to a real foods diet. Of the 67 who were enrolled in the study, the majority were using some form of therapy: psychotherapy and medications combined or psychotherapy only or medication only. There were 31 in the diet support group and 25 in the social support control group. Participants had to have been eating this diet in order to be accepted into the study:<\/p>\n

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a poor (low) intake of dietary fibre, lean proteins and fruit and vegetables, and a high intake of sweets, processed meats and salty snacks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The dietary approach followed by participants in the study intervention group was the \u2018Modi<\/em>MedDiet\u2019 which is based on the Australian Dietary guidelines and the Dietary Guidelines for Adults in Greece.<\/p>\n

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The primary focus was on increasing diet quality by supporting the consumption of the following 12 key food groups (recommended servings in brackets): whole grains (5\u20138 servings per day); vegetables (6 per day); fruit (3 per day), legumes (3\u20134 per week); low-fat and unsweetened dairy foods (2\u20133 per day); raw and unsalted nuts (1 per day); fish (at least 2 per week); lean red meats (3\u20134 per week), chicken (2\u20133 per week); eggs (up to 6 per week); and olive oil (3 tablespoons per day), whilst reducing intake of \u2018extras\u2019 foods, such as sweets, refined cereals, fried food, fast-food, processed meats and sugary drinks (no more than 3 per week). Red or white wine consumption beyond 2 standard drinks per day and all other alcohol (e.g. spirits, beer) were included within the \u2018extras\u2019 food group. Individuals were advised to select red wine preferably and only drink with meals.<\/p>\n

The dietary composition of the ModiMedDiet was as follows: protein 18% of total energy; fat 40%; carbohydrates 37%; alcohol 2%; fibre\/other 3%.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here are the reasons I\u2019m excited about this research:<\/p>\n