A Mediterranean diet, like the Personal Chef To Go menu, is good for its more well-known reasons — protecting against heart disease and cancer— but did you know it could help your mental health?  According to a new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, the Mediterranean diet, rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, nuts, and fish, may decrease risk of depression.

Spanish researchers reported that 30 percent of patients who ate a Mediterranean diet which includes monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and low in saturated fats from meat and dairy products; including moderate intake of alcohol, and high intake of legumes, fruits, veggies, nuts, and grains, were at a lower risk of mental illnesses compared to populations who did not.. It also showed that the main followers of the Mediterranean diet are males, ex-smokers, married people, and elderly individuals.

“The specific mechanisms by which a better adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern could help to prevent the occurrence of depression are not well known,” the researchers report. To explain how exactly the Mediterranean diet links to protection against depression, however, more studies have to be performed.

The researchers don’t think its individual components on their own but the whole diet combined that’s important for protecting against depression. Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, the lead researcher of the new study, says:

The role of the overall dietary pattern may be more important than the effect of single components. It is plausible that the synergistic combination of a sufficient provision of omega-three fatty acids together with other natural unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants from olive oil and nuts, flavonoids and other phytochemicals from fruit and other plant foods and large amounts of natural folates and other B vitamins in the overall Mediterranean dietary pattern may exert a fair degree of protection against depression.

The Mediterranean diet, already well known for helping to reduce a person’s weight, improving mental sharpness and reducing cholesterol, is becoming a popular green style of eating because its followers consume smaller amounts  of meat,  purported to be one more way to help decrease your carbon footprint.

These optimistic findings could lighten up a world touched more and more by depression. So it looks like you mental health is just one more reason to eat the Personal Chef To Goway!

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 "When Americans think of a 'diet,' they tend to think deprivation," says Eve Adamson, co-author (with chef Melissa Kelly) of Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too and The Mediterranean Diet (with Marissa Cloutier, RD).

"That is: no carbs, no fat, no sugar, no meat -- diets are all about forbidding particular foods. The Mediterranean diet is different. Instead of focusing on what you can't have, it focuses on what you can have -- the very best, freshest, healthiest foods."

Basic Ingredients of the Mediterranean Diet:

Fresh, healthy food. The staples of the Mediterranean diet include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, seafood, yogurt, olive oil, and small amounts of wine, Adamson tells WebMD. Food should be eaten in season and locally grown, and Mediterrean dieters avoid processed food.

Portion control. The Mediterranean diet focuses on small portions of high-quality food. "When food tastes delicious, a little is enough because your senses have been satisfied," Adamson points out. And healthy fats like olive oil and nuts, which are staples of the Mediterranean diet, keep you feeling fuller longer than diets that restrict fat or forbid it altogether.

Healthy fats. Unlike most diets, the Mediterranean diet doesn't cut fat consumption across the board, according to Fred A. Stutman, MD, a Philadelphia-based physician and author of 100 Weight-Loss Tips That Really Work. Rather than limiting total fat intake, the Mediterranean diet makes wise choices about the type of fats that are used. On the menu are the monounsaturated fat found in olive oil, nuts, and avocados; and polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, and trout); and fat from plant sources, like flaxseed. Limiting processed and packaged foods keeps the diet extremely low in unhealthy trans fats, which have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease and strokes.

Olive oil. The Mediterranean people use olive oil in almost everything they eat, including pastas, breads, vegetables, salads, fish, and even cakes and pastries, Stutman tells WebMD. It's the principal fat in the Mediterranean diet, replacing other fats and oils, including butter and margarine. What's so healthy about olive oil? Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia found that oleocanthal, a compound in olive oil, may reduce inflammation, which could help prevent conditions like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's, and autoimmune diseases, as well as certain cancers.

Omega-3 fatty acids. Found in abundance in the Mediterranean diet, omega-3 fatty acids are bursting with health benefits, according to Stutman. Fatty acids have been shown to reduce the incidence of heart attacks, blood clots, hypertension, and strokes; and may prevent certain forms of cancer and lower the risk of neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease.

More vegetables, less meat. "A diet higher in plant foods and lower in animal products has been linked to decreased incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and many cancers," Adamson says. The traditional Mediterranean diet is practically vegetarian, with lots of fish and very little meat. As for vegetables, Mediterranean people feast on tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, capers, spinach, eggplant, mushrooms, white beans, lentils, and chick peas, according to Stutman.

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The findings tracked the eating habits of 1,393 people with no cognitive problems and 482 patients with mild cognitive impairment, a preliminary state of mental decline that can sometimes signal the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. Patients were grouped based on whether they were low, moderate or consistent followers of a Mediterranean diet which includes eating large amounts of fish, fruits, vegetables, legumes and monounsaturated fats like olive oil, while at the same time consuming moderate amounts of alcohol and only small quantities of meat and dairy products.

People who closely followed a Mediterranean diet had a 28 percent lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, compared to those whose eating habits were the least like a Mediterranean diet. Moderate followers of a Mediterranean diet showed a trend toward a 17 percent lower risk than the lowest-scoring group. Research has shown that eating a Mediterranean diet is good for heart health, and now there is no risk in improving eating habits in the hope of improving brain health as well.