Low-Fat Diet Boosts Mood

November 10, 2009 6:40 a.m. EST

Miami, FL (AHN) - New research suggests that a low-fat diet may be a key factor to improving one's mood.

Australian researchers compared the mood effects of a high-calorie, low -fat diet with a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. A total of 106 overweight and obese participants were placed on either of the diets for a year.

After 12 months, each group lost about 30 pounds. But it was the mental effects of the low-fat diet that gained notice.

By the end of the year, participants eating the high-calorie, low-fat diet had greater improvements in psychological mood and working memory.

The study appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine.