Junk food doesn’t just make you fat.
Brazilian researchers now say it can make you depressed too.
Depression rates are about 80 percent higher in people who eat the most processed foods, their study found.
Think chocolate, chips, cookies, ice cream, cakes and ready meals.
Yet today’s leading nutritionists have criticized the findings, arguing that it is impossible to truly decipher whether the relationship is one-sided.
Nutritionists divide foods into three groups based on the amount of processing they have undergone. Minimally processed foods such as apples are usually exactly as they occur in nature
Highly processed foods, as pictured above, do not give us everything we need for a healthy, balanced diet. According to the Mental Health Foundation, what we eat can affect our mood and even our sleep
Dr Duane Mellor of Aston University in Birmingham said: “Many of the foods this study found to be associated with depression are not considered regular parts of a healthy diet.
“It could be that factors related to depression can also make one not stick to the ideal diet.
“Therefore, ultra-processed foods cannot be said to be associated with depression.”
The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, surveyed 2,572 college graduates and students from Brazil about their eating and lifestyle habits.
The volunteers were all asked to self-report how often they ate 144 different foods and what their portion sizes were.
In addition to ultra-processed snacks, hamburgers and fries, this included fruits and vegetables.
Ultra-processed foods typically contain five or more ingredients and additional chemicals such as emulsifiers and flavor simulators that increase the food’s shelf life and flavor, but aren’t necessarily good for you.
Participants were also asked questions about lifestyle and health, including their BMI, whether they smoked or drank alcohol, how many hours they watched TV, whether they had diabetes and whether they had been diagnosed with clinical depression.
Between 2016 and 2020, researchers pursued the same questions every two years.
When the study began in 2016, the researchers found that the prevalence of depression in Brazil was relatively high at 12.8 percent, according to the World Health Organization, compared to the global population at nearly 5 percent.
During the course of the study, 246 cases of depression were identified.
The researchers divided the results into four groups to see if there was a difference between the diets.
Volunteers on the worst diets — with ultra-processed foods believed to make up at least 31 percent of their daily intake — were up to 82 percent more likely to be diagnosed over the course of the study.
This was compared to people who eat the least or less than 16 percent of their daily intake.
But the group was also more likely to be overweight, live alone, watch more television and consume fewer vitamins in their diet.
The study also relied on self-reported data, which means some information may be inaccurate.
Dr. David Crepaz-Keay of the Mental Health Foundation said: “The relationship between our diet and our mental health is complicated.
“Brazilian research provides another important piece of the puzzle.
“What we eat can affect our mood in a number of ways: directly through brain chemistry, through effects on our sleep, our physical health and through the way we feel about ourselves.
“Our minds and bodies need a healthy, balanced diet, and we don’t just get it from highly processed foods.
“Sweet snacks and caffeinated drinks can give us a temporary boost – but they’re short-lived, can disrupt sleep and affect our mental well-being.”
WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?
Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally whole grains, according to the NHS
• Eat at least 5 portions of different fruits and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruits and vegetables count
• Alkaline meals based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, preferably whole grains
• 30 grams of fiber per day: This is equivalent to eating all of the following: 5 servings of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole grain granola crackers, 2 thick slices of whole grain bread, and 1 large baked potato with skin on
• Offer dairy products or milk alternatives (eg soy drinks) and choose lower-fat, lower-sugar options
• Eat beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish per week, one of which is fatty)
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consume them in small amounts
• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water daily
• Adults should consume less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men per day
Source: NHS Eatwell Guide
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
