A study conducted in Switzerland found that teenage athletes who included more protein in their diet had lower levels of depressive symptoms. The study was published in the journal Psychology of Sport & Exercise.

The food we eat every day consists of macronutrients – carbohydrates, proteins, fats – and micronutrients – vitamins and minerals.

We humans need the first group the most. The second group, trace elements, is no less important, but we need them in relatively small amounts. Both types of nutrients, macro and micronutrients, are necessary for health and proper functioning of the body.

Proper intake of macro- and micronutrients is closely related to our cognitive abilities, mood and mental health.

Studies have shown that people with mental health problems often make poor food choices. And this leads to unhealthy eating. For example, people with severe mental illnesses have been found to have higher food intake and unhealthy eating habits compared to people without these illnesses.

The study examined the relationship between carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake and depression

Markus Gerber, the author of the study, along with his colleagues noted that the relationship between diet and symptoms of depression is not sufficiently studied, especially among athletes. They conducted a 10-month study to find out whether the consumption of certain macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) affects the development of depressive symptoms in adolescent athletes.

The study involved 134 adolescent athletes recruited from 3 Swiss Olympic schools in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. These schools offer a special academic education for young athletes to perform, giving them the opportunity to combine sports competition with formal education.

Participants were assessed twice: at the beginning of the study (August 2018) and at the end of the study (end of June 2019). During the study, young people were taught to keep food diaries for 3 days (2 weekdays and one weekend). In these diaries, they were asked to write down all the foods they consumed for 3 days. These food diaries allowed the researchers to calculate total energy intake and the amount of certain macro and micronutrients consumed.

Participants were also given ratings of depressive symptoms. In addition, the researchers collected data on the participants’ age, gender, body mass index, how many years they participated in sports, weekly hours of training and competition, nationality and the type of training they did.

High protein intake was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms

The results showed that at the start of the study, 13.9% of participants reported moderate to severe symptoms of depression.

At the second assessment, approximately one year later, this percentage was 11.4% (11 vs. 9 participants). High protein intake was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms at the second assessment. Levels of intake of other types of macronutrients were not associated with depressive symptoms. The data collected helped the researchers to find that the total energy intake of the participants, given their high level of physical activity, was lower than the recommendations of the German, Austrian and Swiss Nutrition Society.

The same was recorded in the case of consumption of fats and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Sugar intake was higher than recommended, while protein intake was adequate. “A key finding of this study is that it shows that higher protein intake in adolescent athletes may help reduce severe symptoms of subsequent depression,” the study authors concluded.

Limitations of the study

The study combines the results of those studies that examine the relationship between diet and psychological factors. Despite the results, the study also has limitations that should be considered. The most important limitation is related to the fact that the products on which the study was based were developed based on these diaries at a specific time and for only three consecutive days.

This means that the changes that a good diet can make cannot be taken into account. In addition, the design of the study does not allow making any causal conclusions about the relationships between the studied factors. What is the daily need for protein? The amount of protein we need largely depends on the level of physical effort we make and the goal we are aiming for.

This is because protein can help us lose or gain muscle mass. “0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is necessary for adults who are engaged in little or moderate physical activity. With heavy physical exertion, the need can increase by 25%. Children over 4 years old need 0.95 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. The need increases with the intensity of physical efforts, it increases with acute diseases (infections, inflammation, burns, in the postoperative or convalescent period, neoplasia) and during pregnancy,” says Dr. Ioana Florentiu, Chief Physician for Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases . , in the article about proteins.

Daily need for protein

Here is your daily protein requirement according to the US Dietary Guidelines:

• Children from 1 to 3 years old – 13 grams
• Children from 4 to 8 years old – 19 grams
• Children from 9 to 13 years old – 34 grams
• Teenage girls from 14 to 18 years old – 46 grams
• Teenagers from 14 to 18 years old – 52 grams
• Women over 19 years old – 46 grams
• Men over 19 years old – 52 grams

Is it good to eat meat to increase protein intake? What kind of meat?

If we talk about red meat, then some experts recommend its limited consumption. If we talk about white meat, the situation is different. In addition to the type of meat, the method of its preparation is also important, say nutritionists. “There are several types of proteins, animal and plant origin. Amino acids of animal origin contain all essential amino acids, while plant amino acids do not. These are incomplete proteins that do not contain all the essential amino acids,” explains Dr. Florin Belenanica, a specialist in personalized medicine, nutrition and nutrigenomics, as quoted by SmartLiving.ro.

Essential amino acids are those that we cannot survive without because we do not produce them, we must get them from our diet. The nutritionist notes that adults can consume vegetable protein and exclude animal protein, but children cannot.

Depression in teenagers – alarming numbers

In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Children’s Hospital Association declared child and adolescent mental health a national emergency in response to the pandemic.

According to a World Health Organization report for the same period, one in seven young people between the ages of 10 and 19 experiences a mental health disorder. In Romania, according to data collected from beneficiaries of the free hotline service, between January 1 and September 30, 2022, 36% of the 5,000 people who called the service were young people between the ages of 13 and 28.

All with symptoms of depression. “The pandemic has put us in a position to face our greatest fear: the fear of death. And our children in this period, adolescence, need a social life. Their social life is part of neurological, cognitive and social development. If nothing special happens to us at the age of 40-43, if we stayed at home, then for our children this is a stage of development. Many of them entered the pandemic as children and emerged from it as so-called adults, according to the CNP. For some, it was a real trauma,” psychotherapist Yolanda Crecescu told SmartLiving.ro.