Although symptoms of depression vary from one individual to another, they can include ongoing sadness, feelings of hopelessness, guilt or helplessness, irritability, fatigue, trouble sleeping, and thoughts of death or suicide. Now, research by experts from the University of Tohoku (Japan) has found that low-fat dairy products can benefit mental health.
For their study, the researchers set out to examine how the consumption of certain low-fat dairy products individually affected the risk of developing symptoms of depression.
They had the participation of 1,159 adults between 19 and 83 years old, the majority being women.
Participants reported how often they consumed low-fat and whole-fat milk and yogurt on a diet questionnaire, excluding cheese, butter, and other dairy products. Only milk and yogurt. The symptoms of depression were then assessed using a 20-item scale to which the volunteers responded. The team identified depressive symptoms in 31.2% of the men and 31.7% of the women.
Compared with adults who did not consume low-fat dairy products, those who drank skim milk and low-fat yogurt 1 to 4 times a week were less likely to have symptoms of depression. These results held true after explaining potential confounders such as age, gender, diet, general lifestyle, and health status.
“The current results indicate that a higher frequency of consumption of low-fat dairy products may be associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms,” explains Ryoichi Nagatomi, co-author of the work.
Despite the results, the team concludes that additional studies are needed to identify the mechanisms underlying the link between low-fat dairy intake and a lower risk of depression.
The study has been published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
