Title: Nutrition and mental health: What's the link?
Headings: Nutrition and mental health: Is there a link?
Nutrition and mental health: Is there a link?
Preventing mental health conditions
Treating mental health conditions
The scientists found no significant difference in depressive episodes compared with a placebo after 12 months.
What about supplements?
The big question is, ‘Why?’
The complexity of mental health
The take-home message

Content: Furthermore, only 8% of individuals in the control group achieved remission, compared with 32% of those in the diet group. Although these results seem promising, the SMILES study was a small, short-term study. As a result, larger, longer term studies are necessary to apply its findings to a larger population. Replicating the findings is important because not all research agrees with them. For instance, in a study
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that recruited 1,025 adults with overweight or obesity and at least mild depressive symptoms, researchers investigated the impact of both a multinutrient supplement and food-related behavioral activation on mental health outcomes. The scientists found no significant difference in depressive episodes compared with a placebo after 12 months. In the same year, though, a meta-analysis
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of 16 randomized controlled studies did find that dietary interventions significantly reduced symptoms of depression, but not those of anxiety. It is, therefore, difficult to draw solid conclusions from the existing body of research, particularly as the type of dietary intervention under investigation has varied greatly among studies. Overall, more research is needed on the topic of specific dietary patterns and the treatment of mental health conditions. In particular, there is a need for a more standardized definition of a healthful diet, as well as for larger, long-term studies.