SEAD Diet Proven to Reduce Depression Risk in European Populations

Have you ever heard of the "SEAD diet"? If not, now is the time to get familiar with this South European Atlantic Diet, traditionally followed by residents of northwestern Spain and northern Portugal, as well as several other European countries. This diet has already been proven to reduce the risk of heart attacks, and now researchers have investigated its effects on mental health.

The researchers began with the assumption that the types of diets we adopt may impact our mental well-being. Therefore, they examined the connection between this type of diet and the risk of developing depression among populations living in southern, central, eastern, and western Europe.

The study involved 13,297 participants aged 45–92, all without a known history of depression, from countries including Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland, and the United Kingdom. The diet they were given consisted of fresh fish- mainly cod- beef products, as well as potatoes, legumes and vegetables, whole grain bread, and a small amount of wine.

After monitoring these individuals over a period ranging from 3.4 to 4.9 years, 1,437 new cases of depression were recorded. Depression was defined according to standard diagnostic criteria, clinic visits, hospitalizations, or self-reported diagnoses. In all countries where the study was conducted, depression rates were lower among participants following the SEAD diet than in the general population.

The researchers also tested other food groups on separate participants. While some of these showed potential benefits for preventing depression, they could not be statistically confirmed.

The researchers concluded that the SEAD diet can clearly and significantly reduce the incidence of depression, at least among European populations. They emphasized however that these findings have not yet been tested in populations from other parts of the world.