Changing Your Diet Could Boost Your Mood

PLUS: Chronic Pain Patients Get Gentler Opioid Guidelines

Claudia Totir/Getty Images Mediterranean Diet Might Help Lift Depression Limiting the amount of processed food you eat -- and, instead, choosing lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains -- could do your spirit good, as well as your heart, according to a study published this week. Researchers who randomly assigned young people to spend just three weeks following different food regimens found that those who ate in the Mediterranean pattern experienced fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety.   The study adds to a “highly consistent and extensive evidence base from around the globe linking healthier diets to reduced depression risk," says Felice Jacka, a professor of nutritional and epidemiological psychiatry at Deakin University's Food & Mood Centre in Australia. READ ON to learn what’s next in determining how food and mood might be linked.   Douglas Sacha/Getty Images Don’t Yank Opioids From Pain Patients, Feds Advise We live in skittish times, when it comes to opioids, with many doctors and patients fearing addiction at least as much as they fear pain. But in their rush to switch patients to other forms of relief, many physicians are moving too fast in cutting the dose of opioids, notes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And that can harm people, too. This week the HHS issued new guidelines for helping chronic pain patients that call for slow, compassionate tapering of drugs like Vicodin and oxycodone -- if and when cessation is deemed necessary -- rather than discontinuing the drugs abruptly. Personalizing the treatment, and slowly tapering the dose over several months, helps patients avoid increased pain and withdrawal symptoms, which can be severe and even lead to thoughts of suicide or desperate attempts to get pain relief illegally. READ ON to learn why some doctors say medicine used to treat addiction can also help some pain patients more comfortably wean themselves from opioids.   Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images How Vaping Nicotine Changes Your Teen’s Brain Facing a steep rise in teen vaping, scientists have been scrambling to estimate the long-term effects of nicotine vapor on a developing brain. Some of the best hints so far come from studies of young mice, and the early evidence is scary for parents. "A very brief, low-dose exposure to nicotine in early adolescence increases the rewarding properties of other drugs, including alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine — and these are long-term changes," says pharmaceutical sciences professor Frances Leslie, from the University of California, Irvine. READ ON to learn about research that suggests vaping nicotine in adolescence could aggravate attention deficits and memory problems down the road.   More of this week's health stories from NPR When ‘Healthy Eating’ Makes You Sick This App Catches Early Signs Of Eye Disease Kitchen Countertops And Lung Disease: The Risks Of Silica Dust   We hope you enjoyed these stories. Find more of NPR's health journalism on Shots and follow us on Twitter at @NPRHealth. Your Shots editor,  Deborah Franklin   What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: shots@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Goats & Soda, Daily News, Best of NPR and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Health emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy