ENDORPHIN RUSH BEATS A SUGAR HIGH

AS OUR volunteers discovered, the Fast 800 plan has another commonly reported benefit — a more positive outlook on life.

‘I’ve found my mood has improved,’ says mother-of-one Victoria Bateman, 35, who works in hospitality management and lives in Chudleigh, Devon, with husband Kieron.

‘I have taken antidepressants in the past so can be prone to feeling low. I’m not on medication at the moment, but can sometimes feel a bit down.

‘But I haven’t felt at all like this since starting the diet. I do wonder if that has played a part.’

Victoria is right: there is good evidence a Mediterranean diet will improve your mood.

That’s probably because the fibre and other nutrients ‘feed’ the good bacteria in your gut, which in turn produce chemicals that dampen inflammation throughout the body, including the brain. And that helps reduce depression and anxiety.

In other words, eating certain fruit and vegetables — including onions, berries and leeks — can have a direct, positive effect on mood and mental wellbeing.

‘I find myself feeling so much more relaxed,’ says Stephen Brown, the 43-year-old manager of a holiday park in Devon who lost 2 st 1 lb. ‘I used to be quite an anxious person, waking up in the middle of the night with my mind teeming with what I had to do the following day. Now I sleep like a baby.’

Another big benefit is once you start losing weight, you’re more inclined to exercise simply because it isn’t such hard work.

This was true for civil servant Joanna Brown, 41, from Sheffield, who lost 1 st 8 lb. ‘I’ve had a personal trainer for a while and I’ve noticed the exercises are getting easier. I feel much lighter when I am moving,’ she says.