mental health Low-fat milk keeps depression away

Low-fat milk or yoghurt will not only help to keep you trim, it can also help you keep off depression.

Scientists from Tohoku University in Japan came to this conclusion after studying 1, 159 adults aged between 19 and 83, mostly women, while investigating the link between consumption of low-fat and high-fat dairy products and the risk of developing symptoms of depression.

They found that those who consumed low-fat milk and yoghurt at least once to four times a week were less likely to have symptoms of depression than those whose consumption was lower.

Participants were asked how often they drank low-fat and whole-fat milk and yoghurt, then assessed using a self-rating depression scale. They identified symptoms of depression in 31.2 per cent of men and 31.7 per cent of women who took part in the study that was published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

After accounting for factors such as age, sex, diet, lifestyle and health status, the study results remained consistent. The researchers however said that further studies are needed to establish how low-fat milk and yoghurt intake lowers the risk of depression.

A World Health Organisation report released in February this year revealed that Kenya ranks six in Africa in reported cases of depression, with 1.9 million cases reported in 2016. 

According to WHO, depression is the leading cause of disability, with more than 300 million people around the world suffering from the mental disorder.