It is known to prevent against heart disease and is hailed as the secret to a long, healthy life. Now, researchers have found the Mediterranean¹ diet can help people with depression, too.我们已经知道，地中海式饮食可以防止心脏病，而且被誉为健康长寿的秘密。如今，研究人员发现，地中海式饮食还可以帮助抑郁症人群。

A study found people who followed the diet were happier, less stressed and reported an improved quality of life compared to those who ate fewer Mediterranean foods.

研究发现，与食用较少地中海食物的人相比，地中海式饮食习惯的人更加快乐、压力更小且据说生活质量更高。

The researchers said omega-3 in particular, a fatty acid found in fish, plays a vital role in maintaining and improving mental health and stability.

研究人员称，尤其是欧米茄三，一种鱼肉中含有的脂肪酸，在维持和改善心理健康及稳定方面起到重要作用。

As part of the study, Australian researchers recruited a total of 82 adults with depression, aged² between 18 -65.

作为研究的一部分，澳大利亚研究人员找到了82个患有抑郁症的成年人，年龄介于18到65岁。

They then assessed how strongly they followed the Mediterranean diet through a 14-item questionnaire.

然后，通过一份有14个问题的问卷，研究人员可以了解到他们在何种程度上遵从地中海式饮食。

This was despite the fact it was a study of people with depression, who tended to have poor diets in the first place.

尽管事实上，这个研究是基于抑郁症人群的，而他们本身在饮食习惯上就不会很好。

The study’s lead author, Dr Natalie Parletta told MailOnline: ‘What we found is that poor diet is predicting the onset³ of depression.’

研究的主要负责人娜塔莉·帕莱塔博士告诉每日邮报在线说：“我们发现，不良饮食习惯可以预报抑郁的发生。”

‘It’s not that people are getting depressed⁴ and then eating badly, eating badly causes the depression in the first place.’

“并不是说人们开始变得抑郁了然后吃得不好，而是吃得不好先引起了抑郁。”

‘We recruited people who had depression already. We screened out people who had good diet. So it was amazing that there was a significant correlation⁵ the Mediterranean diet and mental illness, even for people with low scores on the consumption of wholefoods.’

“我们的研究对象是抑郁症患者，我们筛选出了饮食习惯较好的人。于是，令人惊讶的是，我们发现地中海式饮食和心理疾病显著相关，哪怕是对于全食摄入得分较低的人群也是如此。”