Manage blood pressure and improve mood with the "Made Diet"

DepressionIt is a very difficult mental illness, the number of people suffering from it is increasing rapidly, and it is considered the disease of the century. The medical community has invested a lot of research resources.
Patients with severe depression must take antidepressant drugs to avoid the risk of suicide; however, long-term use of large amounts of antidepressants can cause side effects for some people, and patients can become mentally dull and their daily lives can become disrupted.
The whole world is aging, and many elderly people suffer from depression due to stroke, which has caused the neurological medical community to begin to pay attention to whether they can prevent and improve the disease through lifestyle and diet in addition to taking medicine.

After U.S. News & World Report ranked the DASH diet first and the Mediterranean diet second among the 2011 popular dietary guidelines in the United States in 2015, the University of Chicago Russell Medical Center received funding from the National Institute on Aging to add the "MIND" (Mediterranean-DASH diet intervention for neurodegenerative Delay) they launched in XNUMX to prevent dementia, and published their research on these three diets at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).
They followed 964 Chicagoans aged 60 and older for memory and aging items, and assessed the development of Alzheimer's disease over time. In addition to regular cognitive assessments, participants were screened for depression using the 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale.
They also completed a 144-item food frequency questionnaire, asking participants how often they had eaten certain foods in the past year.
The results showed that the DASH diet was more beneficial than the Mediterranean diet and the Med diet.Relieve depression, participants following the DASH diet were 11% less likely to be depressed than those who followed the diet least.
"The DASH diet may have a 'dual benefit' of preventing cardiovascular disease and boosting mood," said lead author Laurel J. Cherian, PhD, assistant professor of vascular neurology.

DASH diet
It was designed by scholars in 1997 to control blood pressure. It is a low-salt, low-fat, low-saturated fat and low-cholesterol diet, and emphasizes a combination of foods high in magnesium, potassium, calcium, protein and fiber. It is the most closely adhered low-sodium diet for the treatment of hypertension.

mediterranean diet
It also focuses on natural grains, more fruits and vegetables, less meat products, less saturated fat, large amounts of olive oil and nuts, moderate amounts of fish, dairy products (cheese and yogurt) and red wine. It was popular in the Mediterranean from 1940 to 1950 and was listed as a masterpiece of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2013.

MIND Diet
It is a combination of DASH and the Mediterranean diet, and recommends 10 foods that are good for brain power: dark green vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish (once a week, unlike the Mediterranean diet, which requires at least once a day), chicken, olive oil, and red wine (no more than one glass a day). Five foods to avoid: red meat, cream/margarine, cheese, desserts, fried foods, and fast food.
New research suggests that all three diets are actually better than the typical Western diet, which is low in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits and high in sweets, saturated fats, and processed foods.
However, it is estimated that DASH is the better choice among the three in terms of relieving depression because it emphasizes low salt (low sodium), no alcohol, and foods such as potassium, calcium and magnesium that help lower blood pressure.

Helmi Lutsep, deputy director of the Stroke Center and professor of neurological medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, pointed out that among all diets, the DASH diet emphasizes minimal drinking, but both the Mediterranean and MIND diets allow drinking: red wine is part of the Mediterranean lifestyle, and the MIND diet also allows a glass of red wine every day.
Alcohol is a depressant and drinking more than the recommended amount may increase blood pressure.
Additionally, the DASH diet "may be more restrictive and more cautious or coercive about food intake than other diets," Rasch noted, so this group may be more likely to stick to the diet.
Qi believes the new study highlights the power of food as medicine. "It's a valuable tool for neurologists. I know that post-stroke depression is a major problem that is not being addressed and is contributing to rising morbidity."