Interesting study! The results are not surprising:
> In contrast, subtype 4, which followed a balanced and healthy dietary pattern, had less mental health problems and a higher well-being score than other subtypes, suggesting that a balanced intake of various food categories may be associated with better mental health
I don't find this very convincing.
The causal effect could also be the other way around: people whose mental health or well-being was better for other reasons (less stressed, wealthier) had more free time or resources to think about and plan healthier dietary choices and the budget to afford better food options.
The categories left a bit to be desired (low starch can mean a lot -- is it high fat low protein, high protein low fat, balanced on both? How much fiber comes into play? And is it high saturated or unsaturated fats (as my recent stint with keto taught me to pay a lot more attention to)?), but it's an interesting preliminary study that addresses the gut-brain connection that seems to finally be getting a bit more air time.
Hopefully the results of this study can help shape future studies that can get a bit below the surface. I'd be hesitant to draw much in the way of a causal link here given the methodology, but I do expect that future research will uncover feedback loops given the interplay between food types and different gut flora. I can't claim to be an expert but my understanding of candida overgrowth effects would seem to be pretty telling about how far it can go at the extremes.
A research backed holistic health based meal prep program would be pretty attractive given the number of factors there are to balance, and how successful much more rudimentary programs already are when the goal is simply weight loss. We may have an interesting few decades ahead of us.
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 22.2 ms ] threadBut that doesn't mean we can't make causal inferences.
> In contrast, subtype 4, which followed a balanced and healthy dietary pattern, had less mental health problems and a higher well-being score than other subtypes, suggesting that a balanced intake of various food categories may be associated with better mental health
Hopefully the results of this study can help shape future studies that can get a bit below the surface. I'd be hesitant to draw much in the way of a causal link here given the methodology, but I do expect that future research will uncover feedback loops given the interplay between food types and different gut flora. I can't claim to be an expert but my understanding of candida overgrowth effects would seem to be pretty telling about how far it can go at the extremes.
A research backed holistic health based meal prep program would be pretty attractive given the number of factors there are to balance, and how successful much more rudimentary programs already are when the goal is simply weight loss. We may have an interesting few decades ahead of us.