The foods people choose every day may influence much more than their waistline or heart health. According to new research, diet may also affect how older adults think about life, how much enjoyment they experience, and how well they cope with stressful events.
Scientists from University College London and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) have reported that older people who more closely followed a Mediterranean diet tended to have better psychological well-being. Their findings were published in BMJ Open.
The Mediterranean diet has become one of the world’s best-known healthy eating patterns. It encourages eating large amounts of plant foods, including vegetables, fruit, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and olive oil. Fish is eaten regularly, while processed meats, sugary foods, and highly processed meals are limited.
Previous studies have shown that this diet can lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and depression. In this new research, scientists wanted to examine positive mental well-being rather than simply the absence of mental illness. They analysed data from 3,296 adults between 50 and 90 years of age who were enrolled in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.
Participants completed detailed food records and answered questionnaires measuring their mood, independence, optimism, energy, enjoyment of life, and sense of purpose. People who followed the Mediterranean diet more closely generally scored higher on these measures of well-being.
Importantly, this association remained after considering participants’ income, education, and depressive symptoms. The research also captured an unusual period in history because many participants completed follow-up questionnaires during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emotional well-being declined in many people during lockdowns, but the decrease was smaller among those whose diets more closely matched the Mediterranean eating pattern. Scientists believe several biological processes may help explain these findings.
Foods rich in healthy fats, fibre, vitamins, and plant compounds may reduce inflammation, improve gut health, support healthy brain function, and influence the body’s stress response. However, the researchers emphasise that these possible mechanisms still need further study.
This is an important observational study that highlights a strong association between diet quality and positive mental well-being in later life. Because it was not a clinical trial, it cannot prove that changing diet alone will improve happiness or emotional health.
Nevertheless, together with previous research, the findings support recommending a balanced Mediterranean-style diet as part of a healthy lifestyle for older adults while larger intervention studies continue.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies that vitamin D can help reduce inflammation, and vitamin K may lower your heart disease risk by a third.
For more health information, please see recent studies about foods that could sharp your brain, and results showing cooking food in this way may raise your risk of blindness.
Source: University College London and ISGlobal.
