Mediterranean diet could boost mental health among older adults, study finds

Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil may help keep the mind strong even into old age, according to new research.Older adults in England who followed a Mediterranean diet — which is primarily composed of the above foods — during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic reported higher psychological well-being than peers who did not.The researchers tracked more than 3,000 adults between the ages of 50 and 90 to determine how their daily food choices related to their long-term outlook on life, according to a press release.The participants filled out specialized surveys that measured positive psychological traits, including their sense of autonomy, life satisfaction, purpose and control over daily routines.Each participant also received a score based on how closely their eating habits matched a traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern.Adults who stuck closely to the Mediterranean diet reported a significantly stronger sense of overall well-being.This finding held even after researchers accounted for factors like income, education, physical activity, smoking habits and general physical health.The boost in well-being did not appear to be driven by differences in caloric intake, which suggests the specific types of food played an important role.As the researchers tracked the participants over several years, they were able to measure how their well-being shifted during the early months of the pandemic.While emotional well-being and happiness dropped across the entire group during the lockdowns, the study – which was published in BMJ Open – showed the decline was less intense for people who stuck to the Mediterranean diet.Previous research points to a few explanations for this.“This study shows what we’ve been seeing in other research,” Kim Kulp, registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of the Gut Health Connection in the San Francisco Bay Area, told Fox News Digital.The Mediterranean diet is naturally rich in anti-inflammatory n...