People who eat diets that are heavy in processed and fatty foods are more prone to depression, according to a study from University College London.
Researchers also found that diets heavy in fresh vegetables, fruit and fish could help prevent the onset of depression, Agence France-Presse reported.
The study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, compared the diets of two groups of civil servants. One group ate a diet based on "whole," rather than processed foods. The other group ate a fatty, processed food diet that included sweets and high-fat dairy products.
After taking into account lifestyle choices such as exercise and smoking, researchers found that those who ate the whole food diet had a 26 percent lower risk of depression than those who ate mostly processed foods.
People on the processed and fatty foods diet had a 58 percent higher risk of depression.
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