It increases dopamine and serotonin, two well-being hormones.
Depression affects more than 280 million people worldwide, regardless of age, social status and sex. It causes mood disorders, omnipresent sadness, excessive drowsiness during the day, insomnia at night, a withdrawal of social life or even a loss of desire in the formerly appreciated activities. Researchers from Harvard University in the United States have highlighted a little-known prevention factor in depression: food and in particular the protective role of certain fruits.
These scientists have analyzed the interaction between the consumption of certain fruits, the intestinal microbiota and the risk of depression in nearly 32,500 women, followed for 14 years. Validation was then carried out on a cohort of more than 300 men. The fruits were consumed as is or in the form of a house pressed juice. Every 4 years, the subjects had to fill out questionnaires on their diet and every 2 years, a doctor had to determine or not the appearance of depression (and whether or not they took antidepressants). The stools were also analyzed to study the composition of their intestinal microbiota.
According to their results published in the journal “BMC microbiome”the subjects having consumed the most citrus fruits, and more particularly oranges and grapefruits, had a risk of depression of 22% compared to those who consumed the least. These fruits were able to modify the composition of their intestinal microbiota, by increasing the presence of a bacteria called Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. “This bacteria produces S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine (SAM), a metabolite involved in the synthesis of serotonin and dopamine, essential for emotional balance”pursue scientists. Note that the risk of depression was not reduced with other fruits such as apples and bananas. However, the study does not give an exact quantity of citrus fruits to consume to benefit from the protective effects on depression, but it would seem that a daily “high quantity” is used.
“More and more data suggest that the intestinal microbiota plays a role in the development of mental illnesses via” the intestine-end axis […] Food can be a promising route for prevention and management of depression “rejoice scientists. But beware, depression is a complex disease, the precise causes of which remain plural and difficult to determine according to the patients. Many factors come into play. Simply eating an orange will not radically change the mental health of someone sick, but could help complete care. The most important thing is to talk to a healthcare professional, who can guide therapy. “There is nothing ashamed in there”, explained to us psychologist Emma Pisarz in a previous article, “Several therapies exist and work well”.