The Mediterranean diet is an eating pattern that prioritizes the intake of plant foods rich in antioxidants, such as fruits, vegetables, extra virgin olive oil and whole grains, and which numerous studies have associated with better health. Now, a new study led by scientists from the Clínic-IDIBAPS in Barcelona shows that following the Mediterranean diet can reduce anxiety levels in pregnant women by between 25 and 28%, in addition to improving their well-being and the quality of their sleep.
In previous investigations, this type of diet had already been associated with an improvement in the well-being and mental health of pregnant women, but this is the first trial carried out with pregnant women that analyzes and demonstrates that the Mediterranean diet contributes to reducing stress and anxiety. anxiety of future moms.
“The IMPACT study, carried out from 2016 to 2022 with the support of the “la Caixa” Foundation, has already shown that the Mediterranean diet or mindfulness during pregnancy reduce the risk of having a low-weight baby by up to a third. However, the influence of the Mediterranean diet on stress, anxiety, mental state, quality of life and sleep in women during pregnancy was not yet known”, explains Fátima Crispi, researcher at BCNatal and the IDIBAPS group. Fetal and perinatal medicine, both directed by Eduard Gratacós.
“These results could imply the promotion of the Mediterranean diet adapted to pregnant women as a powerful public health strategy”
Crispi is leading, together with Francesca Crovetto from the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital and Ramon Estruch’s team from the IDIBAPS Cardiovascular Risk, Nutrition and Aging group, a secondary investigation of the IMPACT study in which 1,221 high-risk pregnant women participated, who were distributed in different groups randomly at 19-23 weeks of gestation.
One group followed an intervention to promote the Mediterranean diet through personalized visits with nutritionists. The researchers advised these pregnant women to increase their intake of whole grains (5 servings per day), vegetables and dairy products (3 servings per day), fresh fruit (2 servings per day), legumes, nuts, fish, and white meat ( 3 servings a week), and they were asked to use olive oil for cooking and dressing. Another group received usual care during pregnancy, but without any special intervention.
A dietary intervention that kept maternal stress in check
The results of the study have been published in the journal Nutrients and show that the intervention based on the Mediterranean diet reduced anxiety and maternal stress by between 25 and 28%, in addition to improving the well-being and quality of sleep of pregnant women, compared to those who belonged to the group that did not receive any intervention.
The researchers came to this conclusion after analyzing the stress questionnaires the participants answered and measuring the levels of stress-related metabolites, such as cortisol and cortisone, in urine samples. “Some previous studies, such as Predimed, had linked the Mediterranean diet with an improvement in well-being and a reduction in stress levels, but they were studies in non-pregnant women”, adds Crispi. This is the first trial in pregnant women to evaluate and demonstrate it.” The study also reveals that the beneficial effects appear shortly after the start of the intervention.
“Taking into account the increasing importance of the role of mental health during pregnancy, these results could imply the promotion of the Mediterranean diet adapted to pregnant women as a powerful public health strategy”, stated Francesca Crovetto.
The authors have warned, however, about some limitations of the work. “Many of the participants were of white ethnicity, with a medium-high socioeconomic level,” says Crovetto. “Therefore, the finding should not be extrapolated to other populations with different characteristics. It will be necessary to carry out new studies with a greater population diversity, which also evaluate the mechanisms responsible for the effects of the Mediterranean diet observed”.
Source: Clinic-IDIBAPS
