The Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish has long been lauded as a healthy option.

There is another plus.

Scientists said last week that people who eat like this are also less likely to become depressed, though the reasons for this are not clear yet.

Reuters reported that Spanish researchers who studied 11,000 people found that those who followed the Mediterranean diet most closely had a more than 30 per cent reduction in the risk of depression than those whose diet had few of the crucial Mediterranean elements.

"The specific mechanisms by which a better adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern can help to prevent the occurrence of depression are not well known," said biomedical researcher Almudena Sanchez-Villegas and colleagues of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the University of Navarra, Spain.

However, the researchers suggested that elements of the diet may improve blood vessel function, fight inflammation and repair oxygen-related cell damage - all of which could reduce the chances of developing depression.

The study, published in the Archives Of General Psychiatry, adds to an existing body of evidence extolling the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet, including reduced risks of heart disease, diabetes, asthma and cancer.

The study used data from Spanish people who reported their dietary intake on a food frequency questionnaire.

The researchers worked out how close their eating habits were to the Mediterranean diet based on nine components: A high ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids; moderate intake of alcohol and dairy foods; low intake of meat; and high intake of legumes, fruit and nuts, cereals, vegetables and fish.