A review of data of more than 240,000 telephone surveys conducted between 2005 and 2015 has identified an association between consuming an unhealthy diet and an elevated risk for moderate or severe psychological distress. Researcher Dr. Jim E. Banta writes, “This and other studies like it could have big implications for treatments in behavioral medicine… Perhaps the time has come for us to take a closer look at the role of diet in mental health, because it could be that healthy diet choices contribute to mental health. More research is needed before we can answer definitively, but the evidence seems to be pointing in that direction.”

International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, February 2019