AMMEND Trial: Interview with Jessica Bayes

Drew Ramsey, MD Published on December 6, 2022

I recently had the pleasure in talking with one of the researchers from the AMMEND trial, Jessica Bayes. I was able to ask her all my questions about the trial which looked at young men who didn’t have good eating habits and suffered from depression. If you are unfamiliar with the AMMEND trial, I urge you to check out the study as well as watch this interview for the highlights and a deeper dive into the topic of nutritional psychiatry and male mental health.

SHOW NOTES:

[01:15] What the diets of most young men with depression look like
[05:30] We discuss the lack of significant research on male mental health
[08:02] Why they chose to meet with the men twice instead of the originally intended eight times
[10:20] Jessica shares what they gave the participants of the study
[14:42] What made the biggest impact on their depression
[18:55] What I think the biggest opportunity in nutritional psychiatry is
[21:31] How they got participants to eat seafood
[26:15] What Jessica would tell the parent or clinician of a depressed young man

QUOTES:

[03:27] “36% of men go into full remission.”
[12:28] “The SMILES trial as you know, showed the exact opposite. That people who engaged in these behaviors [eating healthy] saved money.”
[15:00] “Don’t eat vegetables you don’t like. Eat the ones you’re going to eat. Eat the ones you’re going to enjoy.”
[19:55] “Every single one has said this has been life changing.”