This is not the first time that foods have been singled out by a study for increasing the risk of depression. Already last April, a Chinese study established a link between regular consumption of fried foods and the appearance of anxiety and depression. The authors observed that regular consumption of fried foods was associated with a 12% risk of depression among research participants. In addition, they highlighted the fact that regularly eating fries was linked to a 7% risk of depression. Five months later, another study, this time American, looked at the link between depression and ultra-processed foods.
Diet-related depression in women?
Let’s start by looking at the definition of ultra-processed foods. According to’National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), these are “packaged, ready-to-use food preparations, presented as practical and quick to consume“. As their name suggests, their preparation requires multiple transformations, whether physical, chemical or biological. So many alterations which require the addition of additives such as emulsifiers, enhancers or even antioxidants. Often rich in sugars and salt, these foods have “in 80% of cases average or unfavorable Nutri-Scores“, specifies Inserm. In order to recognize them, Current wife noted a list of ultra-processed products.
Published in the journal JAMA Open Network, this new research was conducted by researchers at Harvard’s School of Public Health, who collaborated with other scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. All were based on a large, long-term longitudinal observation study, entitled Nurses’ Health Study II. They examined the eating habits and mental health status of more than 31,000 women, aged 42 to 62. The follow-up was carried out over a period of 14 years.
Higher risk of depression for women who consumed ultra-processed foods
Once their observation was completed, the team of researchers found that women who consumed the most ultra-processed foods, i.e. at least nine servings per day, were 49% more likely to develop depression than those who consumed the least, or four daily servings. “Participants with a high intake of ultra-processed foods had a BMI higher, a higher smoking rate and increased prevalence of comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemiaand they were less likely to exercise regularly“, indicates the study.
Artificial sweeteners singled out by the authors
In addition, participants who have reduced their consumption of ultra-processed foods by at least three servings per day had a lower risk of depression than those whose diet had not changed. If the study established a link between ultra-processed foods and depression, on the other hand, it does not prove the existence of a cause and effect link. However, she revealed that artificial sweetener content has been linked to a higher risk of depression, whether in food or drinks. “Recent experimental data suggest that artificial sweeteners cause purinergic transmission in the brain, which may be involved in the etiopathogenesis of depression“, specify the authors.
Andrew T. Chan, co-author of the study, emphasized that the strength of the study is that diet was assessed “several years before the onset of depression“.”This reduces the likelihood that our results are simply because people with depression are more likely to choose ultra-processed foods.“added the professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Source : Consumption of Ultraprocessed Food and Risk of Depression – JAMA Open Network
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