Multi-nation study finds link between junk food and depression

This study analysed 41 different studies from world over to establish that eating junk foods can up the risk of depression and general physicians should give dietary advice as a part of the treatment.

By: Sudhakar Jha | | Published: September 26, 2018 6:07 pm

Diets high in sugar and carbs sold in school canteens are unhealthy. © Shutterstock

Eating junk food has a lot of health hazards, but ever thought that it could wreak havoc with your mental health too? Well, a new study will lead you to believe us when we say that eating junk food can increase your risk of getting depressed. Also Read - Depression, stress may reduce efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, scientists say

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Published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, the team of researchers from Britain, Spain and Australia examined 41 previous studies to establish the links between diet and depression. Also Read - Adults with increased social media usage likely to develop depression within six months

The study also suggested that those who were on a Mediterranean diet were much less likely to develop depression because the fish, fruit, nuts and vegetables in the diet help protect against this mental health condition.

A pro-inflammatory diet can induce systemic inflammation, and this can directly increase the risk for depression, said Dr Camille Lassale, the study s lead author in the research paper. Bad diet heightens the risk of depression to a significant extent, she added in the study.

The team found that foods that have a lot of fat or sugar, or are processed, lead to inflammation in the entire body, which is also known as systemic inflammation.

Dr. Lassale added in the study, Chronic inflammation can affect mental health by transporting pro-inflammatory molecules into the brain, it can also affect the molecules neurotransmitters responsible for mood regulation.

The researchers showed that poor diet and eating junk food is not just merely associated but has a link with the onset of depression. The researchers came to the conclusion after reviewing five studies of 32,908 adults from the UK, France, Spain, Australia and the US.

Poor diet may increase the risk of depression as these are results from longitudinal studies which excluded people with depression at the beginning of the study. Therefore, the studies looked at how diet at baseline is related to new cases of depression, Lassale concluded in the study.

Dr Tasnime Akbaraly, co-author of the research, reportedly said, Added to recent randomised trials showing beneficial effects of dietary improvement on depression outcomes, there are now strong arguments in favour of regarding diet as mainstream in psychiatric medicine. Our study findings support routine dietary counselling as part of a doctor s office visit, especially with mental health practitioners.

Published : September 26, 2018 6:07 pm

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