People that enjoy a Mediterranean diet could inadvertently be boosting their mood and strengthening their stress tolerance, according to new research.
A survey featuring over 1,500 people found respondents with lower levels of stress had diets based around foods that were high in healthy fats.
Researchers at Binghamton University in New York used several questionnaires and scientifically approved scales, including the Kessler Psychological Distress scale, used to evaluate depression.
Using a machine learning model, the results showed that "incorporating components of the Mediterranean diet is beneficial for mental wellbeing and stress reduction."
"Stress is recognized to be a precursor to mental distress, and research, including our own, has demonstrated that the Mediterranean diet lowers mental distress," Lina Begdache, associate professor of health and wellness studies at Binghamton University, said in a statement. "Thus, one element of the puzzle may be explained by the fact that the Mediterranean diet may be associated with a decrease in the negative components of perceived stress and an improvement in its positive attributes."
The study, "Effects of Mediterranean and Western dietary patterns on perceived stress and mental distress," was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrition and Health late last month.
The impetus for this specific topic was that Begdache and her peers believe the majority of studies on diet and stress are looking for the wrong things.
Scientific consensus purports that high stress levels drives humans toward poor dietary choices, but her team want to investigate the opposite.
Further research will be completed to better understand if the reverse is true.
The Mediterranean diet stands in sharp contrast to Western eating habits where high-glycemic, ultra-processed foods are increasingly the norm. The Mediterranean diet has been renowned in recent years for its ample health benefits and longer life expectancies.
Two of the region's culinary epicenters—Sardinia, Italy, and Ikaria, Greece—make up two of the world's 'Blue Zones,' where an unusually high number of people live beyond 80 years old.
The diet consists of salmon, extra virgin olive oil, and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Dairy is allowed, but smaller amounts of stronger cheeses like feta and parmesan are preferable, along with natural yogurt.
Poultry, eggs, and red wines are included in moderation. Conversely, the study found that general meat consumption, attributed to the West, didn't have the negative impact hypothesized.
Dr. Simon Poole, a leading physician and author covering Mediterranean diet, says proving the mental benefits of the regime can be difficult.
"There is now plenty of evidence that the Mediterranean Diet is protective against many chronic diseases, from numerous observational and randomized control trials using validated methods including standardized dietary questionnaires," he told Newsweek.
"It is more challenging to demonstrate end points such as improvements in mental health and wellbeing, including reduced anxiety, stress or depression. This inevitably relies on more subjective outcomes but nevertheless it is a very important area of study."
He added that researchers, albeit gradually, are "beginning to see a pattern in results published from high quality studies."
The bigger picture might be harder to decipher physiologically.
"(This research) is consistent with emerging evidence of the relationship between a diverse and healthy microbiome seen with the Mediterranean Diet and improvements in mood, though the reasons for the effects of the diet are likely to be more complex than this," Poole said.
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