Researchers in Italy and the UK recently published a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition exploring the connection between better life quality and the Mediterranean diet.
The researchers studied nearly 4,500 participants in North America to discover if adhering to a Mediterranean diet resulted in better life quality and decreased pain, stiffness, disability, and depression.
So what is the Mediterranean diet? A diet high in fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes, cereals, olive oil, and fish consumption; low in meat and dairy consumption; and moderate in alcohol consumption.
What the researchers discovered was that those participants who more strictly followed a Mediterranean diet had a higher quality of life, less pain, lower disability, and lower depression.
We’ve commented before on the important role that nutrition plays in mental health, even specifically a Mediterranean diet. It’s great to see more research highlighting how what we eat influences how we feel.