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A recent study has found that following the EAT-Lancet diet may significantly reduce the risk of anxiety and depression.

Researchers from the United Kingdom Biobank assessed the dietary habits of 180,446 participants to determine the effects of the EAT-Lancet diet on mental health.

The study involved UK Biobank members who completed an online 24-hour food recall questionnaire at least once. Exclusion criteria included withdrawal from the study, pre-existing anxiety or depression, usage of anxiolytics, and abnormal energy intakes.

The team used the Oxford WebQ tool to collect dietary data from about 70,000 individuals who filled out additional questionnaires over several months between February 2011 and April 2012.

Using the EAT-Lancet diet index, the study evaluated adherence to the diet's recommendations for healthy eating derived from sustainable food systems. As per Medical News, the researchers employed three diet scores-the Knuppel, Kesse-Guyot, and Stubbendorff indices-to analyze the relationship between diet adherence and the incidence of anxiety and depression.

Participants were monitored from the study's baseline until an outcome occurred, death, or the last follow-up date on March 23, 2021. Illness outcomes were determined using self-reported medical problems, primary care records, hospital data, and death registry information. The researchers identified anxiety and depression using the International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10) codes.

The analysis, published in Nature Communications, revealed that higher adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet correlated with lower odds of developing anxiety, depression, and their simultaneous occurrence. For instance, those in the highest adherence group of the Knuppel index had reduced risks of anxiety, depression, and their concurrent occurrence by 20%, compared to those in the lowest adherence group.

Moreover, each additional point on the EAT-Lancet dietary score corresponded to a reduction in the likelihood of anxiety, depression, and their combined incidence by 5.1%, 4.7%, and 6.3%, respectively. The study also found that adherence to vegetable and fruit guidelines significantly decreased the incidence of these mental health issues.

Higher intake of fish was inversely related to all mental outcomes, suggesting a protective effect. The study's findings indicate that the EAT-Lancet diet not only benefits physical health but also has substantial mental health benefits, potentially reducing risk disparities across different socioeconomic groups.

The EAT-Lancet dietary pattern showed promise in lowering the risk of anxiety and depression. The study highlighted the importance of a balanced diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and fish in promoting mental well-being and suggests that such dietary guidelines could be beneficial for public health.