A diet of low-fat milk and yogurt linked to lower depression rates.

A new research carried out in Japan and China has shown that people who drink a low-fat milk and yogurt have less tendency to be depressed as opposed to those who take the whole-fat milk and yogurt. The study published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology reveals that people who consume low-fat dairy products may be less prone to depression.The study investigated the association between whole and low-fat dairy consumption and depressive symptoms such as exhaustion, sadness, anxiety, helplessness and hopelessness. The study carried out with 1,159 Japanese adults between the ages of 19 and 83, with 897 men and 262 women, of which 31.2% and 31.7% respectively, were depressed. The researchers used questionnaires to find out how often they consumed whole/low-fat milk or yogurt and the depressive symptoms were evaluated using the self-rating depression scale, which consists of 20 questions and is a tool to distinguish people with and without depression. The result showed that people who consumed low-fat dairy products between one and four times a week are less depressed. The correlation remained even after considering other critical factors such as age, sex, health status, nutrition status and life style.