Recently published studies Nutritional Neuroscience It turns out that people who eat a healthy diet are less likely to suffer from anxiety disorders, whereas those who follow a westernized or mixed diet may face greater challenges in terms of the severity of anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental health problems worldwide, affecting approximately one in five people each year. Despite widespread availability of treatments such as therapy and medication, many people continue to suffer from anxiety, which can have a serious impact on their quality of life. This has led scientists to explore alternative or complementary ways of managing anxiety, such as dietary changes.
Previous studies have often focused on specific nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, but these have produced inconsistent results. More recently, scientists have begun to look at broader dietary patterns, which may provide a more comprehensive view of how food choices affect mental health.
In particular, the researchers wanted to explore how different diets affect anxiety disorders, rather than general mental health, and were interested in studying these effects within the context of a diverse cultural background, in this case Iran, which has a rich and diverse culinary tradition.
To conduct the study, the researchers used a case-control design to compare two groups: those with and without anxiety disorders. The study was conducted in Tehran, Iran, from 2021 to 2022 and included a total of 255 people, including 85 people diagnosed with anxiety disorders and 170 healthy people.
Participants in the anxiety disorder group were diagnosed by psychiatrists based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), a widely used guide for diagnosing mental illnesses. Anxiety severity was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire, a tool that helps assess the intensity of anxiety symptoms.
The researchers collected detailed information about each participant’s diet using a food frequency questionnaire designed specifically for the Iranian population, which asked participants to recall how frequently they had consumed 147 different foods in the past year. Based on this data, the researchers used a statistical technique called principal component analysis to identify three main dietary patterns among participants: a “healthy” pattern, a “Western” pattern, and a “mixed” pattern.
The healthy pattern is characterized by a high intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and low-fat dairy products. The Western pattern includes foods such as red and processed meats, sugary snacks, fast food, and refined grains. The mixed pattern contains elements of both the healthy and Western patterns and reflects a more diverse diet that combines aspects of both.
Researchers found that people who follow a healthy eating pattern are less likely to suffer from anxiety disorders. In other words, the more you adhere to a healthy diet, the less likely you are to have an anxiety disorder. In fact, people who most closely adhere to this healthy diet were about 74% less likely to have an anxiety disorder than those who don’t follow this pattern.
The researchers also looked at anxiety severity: Adherence to healthy eating patterns was associated with lower anxiety severity scores on the GAD-7 questionnaire, meaning that people who eat healthier have less anxiety symptoms. Meanwhile, adherence to Western and mixed eating patterns was associated with higher anxiety severity scores, indicating that these diets may exacerbate anxiety symptoms.
The researchers took into account a range of factors, including age, sex, energy intake, marital status, education, medication use, vitamin supplement use, smoking status, alcohol intake, physical activity, health status, past medical history and body mass index (BMI) to determine the specific impact of dietary patterns on anxiety disorders.
But as with all studies, there are limitations. The study’s design, particularly its reliance on self-reported data, could introduce bias. Participants may not remember their eating habits accurately or may report them in a way that seems more favorable. Additionally, the study only shows an association between eating and anxiety, not proves that one causes the other. People with anxiety may change their eating habits as a result of their symptoms, rather than eating being the cause of their anxiety.
the study, “Associations between major dietary patterns and odds and severity of anxiety disorders: a case-control study” are authors Kimia Tolabinasab, Hossein Shahinfar, Shayda Zeratalab-Motlagh, Sima Jazayeri, Mohammad Efatpanah and Leila Azadbakht.
