Reacción a "A small pilot study examines the reduction in the consumption of ultra-processed foods among patients with depression"

This is a reasonably well-designed pilot study to assess whether reducing ultra-processed foods is feasible, but it is insufficient to demonstrate that such a reduction improves depression. Only 20 people took part; the age diversity and the selected characteristics of the group limit the generalisability of the findings. The authors themselves regard the improvement in symptoms as exploratory.

The result is consistent with previous studies linking ultra-processed foods to depression and with trials suggesting benefits from improving diet. However, it does not allow us to distinguish whether the potential benefit stems from reducing the level of processing or from changes in nutrients and calorie intake.
Each participant followed both diets, in a randomly assigned order, and was asked to keep their diet and other habits consistent. This helps to control for some confounding factors, but knowing which diet one is on may influence expectations, and consumption was assessed via questionnaires.

Furthermore, recommending a change does not mean it is easy to maintain. The study does not adequately characterise participants’ financial resources, educational background or access to food and cooking facilities. Its main contribution is to justify larger trials that assess both the benefits and the feasibility of implementing the changes in everyday life. It does not yet provide sufficient grounds to recommend this intervention as a treatment for depression or as a replacement for current therapies.