Free Introductory CourseStart Now
Pursuit of Happiness

Food and Happiness

What we eat is linked to how we feel. The strongest evidence points to adding more fruit, vegetables and whole foods, while popular supplements disappoint.

Last reviewed October 2026 · Based on 41 studies and reviews

Fresh tomatoes and vegetables

Level 1 · The basics

Does food really change how I feel?

It can. Your brain is part of your body, and it runs on what you eat. Scientists have found that people who eat lots of fruit, vegetables and whole foods tend to feel better. In one experiment, young adults who were given extra fresh fruit and vegetables for two weeks said they felt more energetic and more positive about life.

What's the simplest thing to do?

Add good things rather than banning foods. For example:

  • A piece of fruit with breakfast or as a snack.
  • Vegetables with dinner, in any form you like.
  • Beans, nuts or fish sometimes.

You don't need to give up treats. Crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks can be "sometimes" foods, not forbidden ones.

Eat regular meals

Teens who skip breakfast are more likely to feel anxious or low. Scientists aren't sure which comes first, but eating something in the morning is a good habit.

What about sugar?

Lots of people think sugar gives you a burst of happy energy. Scientists have tested this many times, and the "sugar rush" turns out to be a myth: within an hour of a sugary snack, people usually feel a bit more tired, not happier. Studies also find that people who drink lots of sugary drinks every day tend to feel down more often. Nobody has proved that the drinks are the cause, but there is an easy swap: keep water nearby, and enjoy sweets as a treat alongside proper meals.

A warning about dieting

Lots of teenagers try strict diets. Research that followed teens for 15 years found dieting usually doesn't work and can lead to unhealthy eating patterns. Eating well is about feeding your brain and body, not about weight. If eating ever starts to feel stressful or out of control, talk to a trusted adult. In the US, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders offers free support.

Try this

  • Make your plate colourful: the more colours of vegetables and fruit, the better.
  • Keep a water bottle with you.
  • Eat something in the morning, even if it's small.

Level 2 · The evidence explained

A healthy pattern goes with lower depression rates

A review of 41 studies found that people who followed a Mediterranean-style diet most closely (vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish and olive oil) had about a third lower risk of later depression than those who followed it least. These are observational studies, though. People who eat well also tend to have more money, exercise more and sleep better. And low mood itself changes appetite and food choices. In the most careful analyses, which accounted for people's mood at the start, the link largely disappeared.

Trials: small benefits on average

A 2019 review of 16 randomised trials with over 45,000 participants found that improving diet reduced depressive symptoms by a small amount, with no effect on anxiety. Benefits were clearer when a dietitian was involved.

For people with diagnosed depression, three small trials (SMILES, HELFIMED and AMMEND) found large improvements when people were helped to eat a Mediterranean-style diet. These results are encouraging but not settled: participants knew which group they were in, which can inflate results, and critics have questioned how one trial was advertised. SMILES also received some food-industry support.

Two 2025 reviews are more cautious still. One looked only at diet trials lasting three months or more and found small, low-certainty effects on depression, mainly in adults with heart or metabolic risk, and could not confirm benefits for anxiety. The other found that trials designed to prevent depression by improving diet have so far shown no effect, and that the links seen in surveys mostly disappear when depression is diagnosed by a clinician rather than self-reported. Some of that second team also wrote an earlier critique of the SMILES trial.

Fruit and vegetables and happiness

This is the most relevant evidence for happiness specifically. In an Australian study following 12,385 people, those who increased their fruit and vegetable intake reported gains in happiness and life satisfaction within about two years. In a small two-week trial, young adults given extra fresh produce reported more vitality, flourishing and motivation, though their depression scores did not change.

Ultra-processed food

Higher intake of ultra-processed foods is linked to more depression and anxiety, but almost entirely in observational studies. An expert review rated the evidence "highly suggestive", not "convincing".

A 2026 review of studies covering about 2.5 million children and teens found that those who eat more ultra-processed and junk food sleep worse and report more depression. The link with poor sleep was the most convincing. These studies cannot prove the food is the cause, and no clear link with happiness was found.

Sugar and mood

In a pooled analysis of 31 experiments, sugar did not lift mood at any point, and in the first hour it brought more tiredness and less alertness. So the "sugar rush" is a myth. Over the longer term, people who drink the most sugar-sweetened drinks have roughly 25 to 30% higher odds of depression. In a study of UK civil servants, men who ate and drank the most sugar were more likely to develop common mental health problems five years later, and low mood did not predict later sugar intake, which argues against the idea that sad people simply turn to sweets.

The picture is still uncertain. A 2026 review of young people aged 11 to 25 found the link in one-off surveys but not in studies that followed people over time, and a 2024 genetic study found no sign that sugar causes depression. No trial has yet tested whether cutting sugar improves mood. A 2025 study hinted that gut bacteria may explain a small part of the link, but this is early. Brain scans in 2025 found no drug-like dopamine surge after a sugary milkshake, which weakens the "sugar is addictive like a drug" idea. The sensible conclusion: fewer sugary drinks is a reasonable part of a healthy pattern, not a mood cure.

Supplements disappoint

A very large trial of more than 18,000 adults over about five years found vitamin D did not prevent depression, and fish oil (omega-3) did not help either; depression risk was slightly higher in the fish oil group. Another large trial found multi-nutrient supplements did not prevent depression. Probiotic "psychobiotic" studies give mixed and inconsistent results.

Teenagers

There are no whole-diet trials in 12 to 15 year olds, so advice for teens is extrapolated from older groups. Surveys of teenagers consistently link regular breakfast, fruit and vegetables with better mood, and fast food and sugary drinks with more stress and low mood. Food insecurity, not having reliable access to enough food, is strongly linked to teen depression, which reminds us that diet is not just a matter of personal choice.

A 2026 review of nearly two million young people put diet in context: sleep and physical activity are more strongly and consistently tied to teen depression than diet, where results vary.

What this means for you

Focus on adding fruit, vegetables and whole foods. Be sceptical of supplements sold as mood boosters. If you are being treated for depression, a dietitian can be a useful addition to your care.

Level 3 · Deep dive

Observational evidence

Lassale et al. (2019) synthesised 20 longitudinal and 21 cross-sectional studies: highest versus lowest Mediterranean-diet adherence RR 0.67 for incident depression (four cohorts); lower Dietary Inflammatory Index RR 0.76. Molendijk et al. (2018), a dose-response meta-analysis of 24 prospective cohorts, found reduced risk of depressive symptoms with higher diet quality (OR 0.64 to 0.78), but no association in studies that adjusted for baseline symptom severity or used diagnostic outcomes. The attenuation where confounding and reverse causation are best controlled is the key interpretive point.

Intervention evidence

Firth et al. (2019): 16 RCTs, N = 45,826, mostly non-clinical. Small effect on depressive symptoms (reported as g = 0.275 in the full text; the abstract reports a smaller value), none on anxiety; larger effects with dietitian delivery and in female samples, with male samples trending negative. Some included trials were weight-loss interventions in adults with overweight, which is not a basis for weight-loss advice to adolescents.

In clinical depression: SMILES (Jacka et al., 2017; 67 randomised, 56 completers) reported d = -1.16 versus social-support befriending and remission of 32% versus 8%. Conflict of interest: co-funding from Meat & Livestock Australia (biochemistry) and in-kind support from Woolworths and a muesli-bar manufacturer; sponsors reportedly had no role. Molendijk, Fried and Van der Does (2018) argued that recruitment materials primed expectations and that control-arm dropout was about four times higher; the authors replied that diet change tracked symptom change and that HELFIMED replicated the finding. HELFIMED (Parletta et al., 2019; N = 152) combined diet with fish oil, confounding attribution, and had high attrition. AMMEND (Bayes et al., 2022; 72 completers, men aged 18 to 25) was open-label.

Restricting to RCTs of 3 months or longer (25 trials), Abukmail et al. (2025; no funding) found small, low-certainty reductions in depressive symptoms with calorie-restriction advice (SMD -0.23) and low-fat diets (SMD -0.03) in adults with elevated cardiometabolic risk; evidence on other diets and anxiety was inconclusive. Molero et al. (2025; 21 RCTs, 92 cohorts, more than 700,000 participants; frequentist and Bayesian) found strong Bayesian support for no effect in prevention RCTs, low-validity evidence for benefit in treatment RCTs (d = -0.80), and cohort associations (for example, Mediterranean diet OR 0.91, no dose-response) confined to self-reported rather than diagnosed depression; overall strength of evidence very low. Two of its authors (Molendijk, Van der Does) co-wrote the SMILES critique cited above.

Fruit, vegetables and positive wellbeing

Mujcic and Oswald (2016), HILDA panel, N = 12,385: within-person increases in fruit and vegetable intake predicted gains in happiness and life satisfaction within 24 months. Conner et al. (2017), preregistered three-arm RCT, N = 171 young adults with low intake: provision of two additional daily servings for 14 days increased vitality, flourishing and motivation, not explained by vitamin C or carotenoid status; no effect on depression, anxiety or mood; text reminders plus vouchers had no effect.

Ultra-processed food

Lane et al. (2022): 17 studies (15 cross-sectional), N = 385,541; depressive symptoms OR 1.44, anxiety OR 1.48; prospective depression HR 1.22 (two studies). Dai et al. (2024) umbrella review graded depression and common mental disorders Class II ("highly suggestive"). No RCT has tested ultra-processed food and mood. In under-19s, a preregistered umbrella review (Ulm et al., 2026; about 2.5 million participants) graded associations of UPF with short sleep (OR 1.30) and insomnia (OR 1.47) as convincing, and with common mental disorders (OR 1.53) and of junk food with depression (OR 1.62) as highly suggestive; associations with happiness and sleep satisfaction were not significant. All observational.

Added sugar

Acute experimental evidence is fairly clear: across 31 studies and 176 effect sizes, carbohydrate ingestion produced no mood benefit at any time point and increased fatigue and reduced alertness within 60 minutes (Mantantzis et al., 2019). For habitual intake, umbrella reviews converge on a modest positive association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and depression (highest vs lowest RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.39; Hu et al., 2019) but grade it inconsistently: low certainty in Huang et al. (2023), "convincing" in Lane et al. (2024). Restricting to prospective data attenuates the estimate (RR 1.05; Xu et al., 2021), and in youth the cohort estimate is not significant (OR 1.13, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.31; Wang et al., 2026). In Whitehall II, men in the top tertile of sugar from sweet foods and drinks had higher odds of incident common mental disorder at five years (OR 1.23), with no evidence of reverse causation (Knüppel et al., 2017). A bidirectional Mendelian randomisation study found genetically predicted relative sugar intake inversely associated with major depression (OR 0.55; Buczkowska & Iob, 2024), although instruments for diet are weak. Gut-microbial mediation via Eggerthella explained about 4 to 5% of the soft drink and depression association in a cross-sectional sample (Edwin Thanarajah et al., 2025). A PET study found no significant post-ingestive striatal dopamine response to a high-sugar, high-fat milkshake (Darcey et al., 2025, NIH intramural). The most-cited sceptical review of sugar addiction (Westwater et al., 2016) appeared in a journal supplement sponsored by Rippe Health, whose founder has documented corn-refiner funding; its conclusion is nonetheless consistent with the independent PET data. No randomised trial of sugar reduction with mood outcomes was found.

Supplements

VITAL-DEP (Okereke et al., 2020; 2021; N = 18,353, adults 50+, median 5.3 years): vitamin D3 2000 IU/day had no effect on depression risk (HR 0.97); marine omega-3 1 g/day showed a small increase in risk (HR 1.13) and no mood benefit. MooDFOOD (Bot et al., 2019; N = 1,025): multinutrient supplementation did not prevent major depression. In young people with depression, a Cochrane review of omega-3 found very uncertain effects (Campisi et al., 2024; 5 RCTs). Probiotic meta-analyses report large pooled effects with extreme heterogeneity (Asad et al., 2025), and a 2026 analysis found no benefit at short or medium duration (Anjum et al., 2026).

Adolescents

O'Neil et al. (2014): consistent cross-sectional associations between diet quality and mental health in children and adolescents, with some evidence of reverse direction. Hong and Peltzer (2017; N = 65,212 Korean adolescents) found breakfast, fruit, vegetables and milk associated with happiness and lower distress. Zahedi et al. (2022): breakfast skipping associated with depression (OR 1.39) and, in adolescents, anxiety (OR 1.51); observational. Smith et al. (2023; N = 48,401 adolescents aged 12 to 15, 22 countries): severe food insecurity OR 1.81 for depressive symptoms. Project EAT (Yoon et al., 2020; N = 1,230, 15-year follow-up): disordered eating behaviours including frequent dieting were reported by about half of girls and a third of boys and predicted higher BMI over time. Campisi et al. (2026; 49 reviews, 485 studies, N about 1.9 million, mean age 14.3) reported larger associations with adolescent depression for sleep disruption (g = 0.55) and duration (g = -0.40) than for diet quality (g = -0.16 healthy; 0.14 unhealthy), with consistent intervention effects for physical activity (g = -0.54) but inconsistent ones for diet (g = -0.20).

Editorial stance for a teen audience

Given the dieting evidence, this page frames all advice as additive, avoids weight and "good/bad food" language, and never suggests skipping meals.

Claims we deliberately do not make

That food can replace treatment for depression; that gut bacteria or psychobiotics fix mood; that sugar is "addictive like drugs" (contested); that vitamin D or omega-3 supplements prevent depression; that ultra-processed food causes depression; any weight-loss framing.

Frequently asked questions

Can diet improve depression?

Improving diet reduced depressive symptoms by a small amount on average across 16 trials (Firth et al., 2019). Small trials in people with diagnosed depression found larger benefits, but they had important limitations. Diet evidence is still early, so for now treat healthy eating as a helpful addition rather than a treatment on its own.

Can a healthy diet prevent depression?

Current prevention trials suggest it does not, although a good diet may help symptoms modestly and is worth having for other reasons (Molero et al., 2025).

Do fruit and vegetables make you happier?

People who increase their fruit and vegetable intake report gains in happiness and life satisfaction over the following two years (Mujcic & Oswald, 2016), and a short trial found more vitality and flourishing in young adults (Conner et al., 2017).

Does vitamin D or omega-3 help with depression?

In a trial of more than 18,000 adults, neither vitamin D nor fish oil prevented depression (Okereke et al., 2020; 2021).

Is ultra-processed food bad for mental health?

It is linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety, but the evidence is observational, so cause and effect has not been shown.

Does junk food affect teenagers' mental health?

Teens who eat more ultra-processed and junk food have higher rates of depression and, most consistently, worse sleep, but the studies are observational and cannot show cause (Ulm et al., 2026).

Does sugar affect your mood?

The "sugar rush" is a myth: in experiments, sugar did not lift mood and made people more tired within an hour (Mantantzis et al., 2019). Heavy sugary-drink habits are linked to higher rates of depression, but cause and effect has not been shown.

What should teenagers eat for a good mood?

Regular meals, including breakfast, with plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole foods. Focus on adding good foods rather than dieting.

Bibliography

  1. Abukmail, E., Pradeep, N. K., Ahmed, S., & Albarqouni, L. (2025). Moderate- to long-term effect of dietary interventions for depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine, 178(7), 987-999. https://doi.org/10.7326/ANNALS-24-03016

  2. Anjum, N., Ahmed, Z., Anjum, F., & Liaqat, S. (2026). Efficacy of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics on depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutritional Neuroscience. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2026.2703621

  3. Asad, A., Kirk, M., Zhu, S., Dong, X., & Gao, M. (2025). Effects of prebiotics and probiotics on symptoms of depression and anxiety in clinically diagnosed samples: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrition Reviews, 83(7), e1504-e1520. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuae177

  4. Bayes, J., Schloss, J., & Sibbritt, D. (2022). The effect of a Mediterranean diet on the symptoms of depression in young males (the "AMMEND" study): A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 116(2), 572-580. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqac106

  5. Bot, M., Brouwer, I. A., Roca, M., Kohls, E., Penninx, B. W. J. H., Watkins, E., et al. (2019). Effect of multinutrient supplementation and food-related behavioral activation therapy on prevention of major depressive disorder among overweight or obese adults with subsyndromal depressive symptoms: The MooDFOOD randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 321(9), 858-868. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.0556

  6. Brookie, K. L., Best, G. I., & Conner, T. S. (2018). Intake of raw fruits and vegetables is associated with better mental health than intake of processed fruits and vegetables. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 487. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00487

  7. Buczkowska, M., & Iob, E. (2024). Testing the causal relationship of fat and sugar intake with depression and cortisol: A Mendelian randomisation study. Translational Psychiatry, 14(1), 368. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-024-03089-2

  8. Campisi, S. C., De Luca, I., Zilio, M., Dayal, A., Kinzel, E. A., & Korczak, D. J. (2026). Diet, sleep, and physical activity in children and adolescents with depression: An umbrella review of systematic reviews. Journal of Adolescent Health, 79(3), 305-314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2026.04.018

  9. Campisi, S. C., Zasowski, C., Bradley-Ridout, G., Schumacher, A., Szatmari, P., & Korczak, D. (2024). Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for depression in children and adolescents. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 11, CD014803. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD014803.pub2

  10. Conner, T. S., Brookie, K. L., Carr, A. C., Mainvil, L. A., & Vissers, M. C. M. (2017). Let them eat fruit! The effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on psychological well-being in young adults: A randomized controlled trial. PLoS ONE, 12(2), e0171206. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0171206

  11. Conner, T. S., Fletcher, B. D., Haszard, J. J., Pullar, J. M., Spencer, E., Mainvil, L. A., & Vissers, M. C. M. (2020). KiwiC for vitality: Results of a randomized placebo-controlled trial testing the effects of kiwifruit or vitamin C tablets on vitality in adults with low vitamin C levels. Nutrients, 12(9), 2898. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12092898

  12. Dai, S., Wellens, J., Yang, N., Li, D., Wang, J., Wang, L., et al. (2024). Ultra-processed foods and human health: An umbrella review and updated meta-analyses of observational evidence. Clinical Nutrition, 43(6), 1386-1394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2024.04.016

  13. Darcey, V. L., Guo, J., Chi, M., et al. (2025). Brain dopamine responses to ultra-processed milkshakes are highly variable and not significantly related to adiposity in humans. Cell Metabolism, 37(3), 616-628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2025.02.002

  14. Edwin Thanarajah, S., Ribeiro, A. H., Lee, J., et al. (2025). Soft drink consumption and depression mediated by gut microbiome alterations. JAMA Psychiatry, 82(11), 1095-1102. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.2579

  15. Firth, J., Marx, W., Dash, S., Carney, R., Teasdale, S. B., Solmi, M., et al. (2019). The effects of dietary improvement on symptoms of depression and anxiety: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Psychosomatic Medicine, 81(3), 265-280. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000673

  16. Francis, H. M., Stevenson, R. J., Chambers, J. R., Gupta, D., Newey, B., & Lim, C. K. (2019). A brief diet intervention can reduce symptoms of depression in young adults: A randomised controlled trial. PLoS ONE, 14(10), e0222768. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222768

  17. Hong, S. A., & Peltzer, K. (2017). Dietary behaviour, psychological well-being and mental distress among adolescents in Korea. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 11, 56. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-017-0194-z

  18. Hu, D., Cheng, L., & Jiang, W. (2019). Sugar-sweetened beverages consumption and the risk of depression: A meta-analysis of observational studies. Journal of Affective Disorders, 245, 348-355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.015

  19. Huang, Y., Chen, Z., Chen, B., et al. (2023). Dietary sugar consumption and health: Umbrella review. BMJ, 381, e071609. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-071609

  20. Jacka, F. N., O'Neil, A., Opie, R., Itsiopoulos, C., Cotton, S., Mohebbi, M., et al. (2017). A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the "SMILES" trial). BMC Medicine, 15(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0791-y

  21. Knüppel, A., Shipley, M. J., Llewellyn, C. H., & Brunner, E. J. (2017). Sugar intake from sweet food and beverages, common mental disorder and depression: Prospective findings from the Whitehall II study. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 6287. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05649-7

  22. Lane, M. M., Gamage, E., Travica, N., Dissanayaka, T., Ashtree, D. N., Gauci, S., et al. (2022). Ultra-processed food consumption and mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Nutrients, 14(13), 2568. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14132568

  23. Lane, M. M., Travica, N., Gamage, E., et al. (2024). Sugar-sweetened beverages and adverse human health outcomes: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies. Annual Review of Nutrition, 44(1), 383-404. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-062322-020650

  24. Lassale, C., Batty, G. D., Baghdadli, A., Jacka, F., Sánchez-Villegas, A., Kivimäki, M., & Akbaraly, T. (2019). Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Molecular Psychiatry, 24(7), 965-986. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-018-0237-8

  25. Mantantzis, K., Schlaghecken, F., Sünram-Lea, S. I., & Maylor, E. A. (2019). Sugar rush or sugar crash? A meta-analysis of carbohydrate effects on mood. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 101, 45-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.016

  26. Molendijk, M. L., Fried, E. I., & Van der Does, W. (2018). The SMILES trial: Do undisclosed recruitment practices explain the remarkably large effect? BMC Medicine, 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-018-1221-5

  27. Molendijk, M., Molero, P., Ortuño Sánchez-Pedreño, F., Van der Does, W., & Martínez-González, M. A. (2018). Diet quality and depression risk: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Journal of Affective Disorders, 226, 346-354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.09.022

  28. Molero, P., De Lorenzi, F., Gędek, A., Strater, C., Popescu, E., Ortuño, F., Van Der Does, W., Martínez-González, M. A., & Molendijk, M. L. (2025). Diet quality and depression risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Journal of Affective Disorders, 382, 154-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.03.162

  29. Mujcic, R., & Oswald, A. J. (2016). Evolution of well-being and happiness after increases in consumption of fruit and vegetables. American Journal of Public Health, 106(8), 1504-1510. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303260

  30. O'Neil, A., Quirk, S. E., Housden, S., Brennan, S. L., Williams, L. J., Pasco, J. A., Berk, M., & Jacka, F. N. (2014). Relationship between diet and mental health in children and adolescents: A systematic review. American Journal of Public Health, 104(10), e31-e42. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302110

  31. Okereke, O. I., Reynolds, C. F., Mischoulon, D., Chang, G., Vyas, C. M., Cook, N. R., et al. (2020). Effect of long-term vitamin D3 supplementation vs placebo on risk of depression or clinically relevant depressive symptoms and on change in mood scores: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 324(5), 471-480. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.10224

  32. Okereke, O. I., Vyas, C. M., Mischoulon, D., Chang, G., Cook, N. R., Weinberg, A., et al. (2021). Effect of long-term supplementation with marine omega-3 fatty acids vs placebo on risk of depression or clinically relevant depressive symptoms and on change in mood scores: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 326(23), 2385-2394. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.21187

  33. Parletta, N., Zarnowiecki, D., Cho, J., Wilson, A., Bogomolova, S., Villani, A., et al. (2019). A Mediterranean-style dietary intervention supplemented with fish oil improves diet quality and mental health in people with depression: A randomized controlled trial (HELFIMED). Nutritional Neuroscience, 22(7), 474-487. https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2017.1411320

  34. Smith, L., López Sánchez, G. F., Oh, H., Rahmati, M., Tully, M. A., Yon, D. K., et al. (2023). Association between food insecurity and depressive symptoms among adolescents aged 12-15 years from 22 low- and middle-income countries. Psychiatry Research, 328, 115485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115485

  35. Swami, V., Hochstöger, S., Kargl, E., & Stieger, S. (2022). Hangry in the field: An experience sampling study on the impact of hunger on anger, irritability, and affect. PLoS ONE, 17(7), e0269629. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269629

  36. Ulm, C., Hill, F., Mills, S. D., Chelius, C., & Hecht, E. M. (2026). Association between unhealthy food consumption and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents: An umbrella review. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-026-01079-4

  37. Wang, P., Liu, J., Ju, Y., et al. (2026). Sugar-sweetened beverages consumption and the risk of depression in youth: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 203, 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2026.08.024

  38. Westwater, M. L., Fletcher, P. C., & Ziauddeen, H. (2016). Sugar addiction: The state of the science. European Journal of Nutrition, 55(Suppl 2), 55-69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-016-1229-6

  39. Xu, Y., Zeng, L., Zou, K., et al. (2021). Role of dietary factors in the prevention and treatment for depression: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of prospective studies. Translational Psychiatry, 11(1), 478. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01590-6

  40. Yoon, C., Mason, S. M., Hooper, L., Eisenberg, M. E., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2020). Disordered eating behaviors and 15-year trajectories in body mass index: Findings from Project Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults (EAT). Journal of Adolescent Health, 66(2), 181-188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.08.012

  41. Zahedi, H., Djalalinia, S., Sadeghi, O., Zare Garizi, F., Asayesh, H., Payab, M., Zarei, M., & Qorbani, M. (2022). Breakfast consumption and mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Nutritional Neuroscience, 25(6), 1250-1264. https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2020.1853411

This page is reviewed regularly as new research is published. Earlier version: archive.