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People are always looking for new ways to prevent depression that don’t involve guesswork about medication. And now, fish may be a part of it.
In an analysis of 26 studies, researchers looked at the relationship between depression and fish consumption. These studies consisted of a total of 150,278 people, spread out across Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, and South America.
The results? In Europe, those who consumed the most fish lowered their risk of depression by 17 percent.
When analyzing by gender, they found a 20 percent lower risk of depression in fish-eating men. For women, there was a 16 percent lower risk.
However, the one catch for this study is that this association was only found in the studies done in Europe. Everywhere else, there was no real difference.
This could be because there really isn’t a significant connection, or because the studies were too small to find any real statistically significant connection.
It’s also important to remember that these are observational studies, meaning that they can’t prove that one thing definitely causes another thing.
There also hasn’t yet been a study connecting the different kinds of fish people ate and whether or not this factored into their prevention of depression.
But hey! It’s not too bad of a chance to take. Fish is delicious, and if it prevents you from feeling depressed, there’s no reason at all not to try.
Of course, if you’re feeling depressed already, eating fish is probably not the answer. Talk to someone you trust or seek professional help if you’re feeling this way.
