Study: vegetarians are more likely to be depressed than meat eaters

A vegetarian diet is associated with higher rates of depression. This conclusion was made by German psychologists after a meta-analysis of 13 studies, in which a total of almost 50 thousand people participated.. Eight thousand of them did not eat meat and fish, the rest ate without restrictions, writes N + 1.

Scientists simply state a fact and declare that it is not yet possible to talk about a causal relationship.. At the same time, they found indirect evidence that people who already have depressive symptoms are prone to vegetarianism..

One survey analyzed found that meat rejection followed the onset of mental illness.. There are two explanations for this.. First: people began to worry more about their health and therefore chose a vegetarian diet.. Second: due to depressive thoughts, the volunteers were imbued with compassion for animals and decided to eat only plant foods.