Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AEND)

A pilot trial assessed the feasibility and acceptability of reducing the consumption of ultra-processed foods in the diets of patients with major depressive disorder. The study, which involved twenty participants from the United States, has been published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry and shows that scores for depression and anxiety were lower during the period of reduced consumption of ultra-processed foods than during the period of their usual diet. According to the authors, this is an exploratory study – in the form of a Research Letter – and, “at best, it generates hypotheses”.

Baby foods sold in pouches with spouts — intended to supplement nutritional intake from six months onwards — tend to resemble sugary drinks and milkshakes more than nutritious foods, according to an analysis of products from the UK published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, part of the BMJ group. The analysis shows that these products often have a higher sugar content and lower nutritional density than breast milk or infant formula, and frequently lack the texture needed to help babies learn to eat solid foods.