Abstract
Lifestyle choices significantly influence mental health in later life. In this study we investigated the effects of the Christian Orthodox Church (COC) fasting diet, which includes long-term regular abstinence from animal-based products for half the calendar year, on cognitive function and emotional wellbeing of healthy adults. Two groups of fasting and non-fasting individuals were evaluated regarding their cognitive performance and the presence of anxiety and depression using the Mini Mental Examination Scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), respectively. Data on physical activity, smoking, and vitamin levels were collected and correlated with mental health scoring. Negative binomial regression was performed to examine differences in the GDS scores between the two groups. Significantly lower levels of anxiety (7.48 ± 4.98 vs. 9.71 ± 5.25; p < 0.001) and depression (2.24 ± 1.77 vs. 3.5 ± 2.52; p < 0.001), along with better cognitive function (29.15 ± 0.79 vs. 28.64 ± 1.27; p < 0.001), were noticed in fasting compared to non-fasting individuals. GDS score was 31% lower (Incidence Rate Ratio: 0.69, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.56–0.85) in the fasting group compared to the control, while vitamin and ferrum levels did not differ. The COC fasting diet was found to have an independent positive impact on cognition and mood in middle-aged and elderly individuals.
Highlights
Informing lifestyle choices to promote mentally healthy aging is an important public health goal [1,2]
We have investigated the impact of the Christian Orthodox Church (COC) fasting diet on specific measurements of depression, anxiety, and cognitive function of healthy middleaged and elderly individuals
105 subjects were allocated to the fasting group and 107 to the non-fasting group
Summary
Informing lifestyle choices to promote mentally healthy aging is an important public health goal [1,2]. Implementation of public health strategies that promote mental and emotional wellbeing in the aging population would support the sustainable development of healthcare systems [4]. In this context, numerous studies have highlighted beneficial or detrimental dietary patterns, micro- and macronutrients, and nutritional combinations [5,6,7,8,9]. The Mediterranean diet has been widely described as an ecological and viable nutritional model [10,11] which is associated with reduced mortality along with a lower risk for cancer, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, cardiovascular events, strokes [12,13], cognitive impairment [14,15,16], and depression in selected populations [13,17]. It is enriched in beneficial nutrients that are important for brain function such as monounsaturated fatty acids, a balanced ratio of (n-6):(n-3) essential fatty acids, vitamins E and C, resveratrol, polyphenols, selenium, and glutathione, and it contains high amounts of fibers [10,11]
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