were 50 percent less likely to suffer from depression

Feeling blue? Well, new research shows that maybe all you need to do is change your diet. A study done by the national medical research agency in Spain shows that the Mediterranean diet can have a big impact in improving your mood and can be regarded as a natural remedy for depression. Over 10,000 mentally healthy Spanish people were monitored for almost five years and told to follow a Mediterranean diet. Those individuals who stayed on the Mediterranean diet for the whole term of the study were 50 percent less likely to suffer from depression as those individuals who did not stay on it.

The Mediterranean diet which consists of a whole range of different fruit and vegetables, natural products, olive oil and fish is not only good for the mind but also for the body. In fact because of the positive health benefits especially to the heart and the circulatory system it is likely the lack of depression experienced could be due to good physical health as opposed to the Mediterranean diet having a direct positive effect on the mind.

On the other hand however, Dr. Miguel Angel Martinez-Gonzalez who led the study explained that consuming a healthy form of fat is essential for the production of good neuron membranes. The Mediterranean diet is full of natural fat which is less likely to clog the arteries and cause heart disease. Fat is also a requirement for the production of healthy levels of hormones which also regulate mood and well being.

The other thing about the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle is that it allows you consume a large variety of tasty food which should be consumed over a leisurely period and preferably on a veranda overlooking the sea with plenty of sun and a gentle breeze ( : , and that should be enough to keep you in a good mood.

The research was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.