Depression link to processed food

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Tamago

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BBC NEWS | Health | Depression link to processed food

"Eating a diet high in processed food increases the risk of depression, research suggests.

What is more, people who ate plenty of vegetables, fruit and fish actually had a lower risk of depression, the University College London team found.

Data on diet among 3,500 middle-aged civil servants was compared with depression five years later, the British Journal of Psychiatry reported.

The team said the study was the first to look at the UK diet and depression.

They split the participants into two types of diet - those who ate a diet largely based on whole foods, which includes lots of fruit, vegetables and fish, and those who ate a mainly processed food diet, such as sweetened desserts, fried food, processed meat, refined grains and high-fat dairy products.

After accounting for factors such as gender, age, education, physical activity, smoking habits and chronic diseases, they found a significant difference in future depression risk with the different diets.

Those who ate the most whole foods had a 26% lower risk of future depression than those who at the least whole foods.

By contrast people with a diet high in processed food had a 58% higher risk of depression than those who ate very few processed foods.

Mediterranean diet

Although the researchers cannot totally rule out the possibility that people with depression may eat a less healthy diet they believe it is unlikely to be the reason for the findings because there was no association with diet and previous diagnosis of depression.

Study author Dr Archana Singh-Manoux pointed out there is a chance the finding could be explained by a lifestyle factor they had not accounted for.

"There was a paper showing a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower risk of depression but the problem with that is if you live in Britain the likelihood of you eating a Mediterranean diet is not very high.

"So we wanted to look at bit differently at the link between diet and mental health."

It is not yet clear why some foods may protect against or increase the risk of depression but scientists think there may be a link with inflammation as with conditions such as heart disease.

Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: "This study adds to an existing body of solid research that shows the strong links between what we eat and our mental health.

"Major studies like this are crucial because they hold the key to us better understanding mental illness."

He added people's diets were becoming increasingly unhealthy.

"The UK population is consuming less nutritious, fresh produce and more saturated fats and sugars.

"We are particularly concerned about those who cannot access fresh produce easily or live in areas where there are a high number of fast food restaurants and takeaways."

Margaret Edwards, head of strategy at the mental health charity SANE, said: "Physical and mental health are closely related, so we should not be too surprised by these results, but we hope there will be further research which may help us to understand more fully the relationship between diet and mental health."
 
Oh for goodness sake. What next? Breathing causing depression? Being alive causing depression? What a load of.......<insert derogatory word of choice here>.
 
Well, it's not a load of crap, sorry San. I know you think depression is a sham or a scam or whatever, but it's not. Depression caused by chemical imbalances is just as real as diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, and any other hormonal/endocrine dysfunction that requires medication or dietary treatment.

My ex suffers from clinical depression for which he'll have to take meds the rest of his life. But he can alleviate the symptoms by some degree by avoiding processed foods and eating better. Even unprocessed but unhealthy foods can affect seratonin levels and impact mental outlook.

There are many reliable studies that have shown links to processed foods and depression - not just this one. This is not new information.
 
Woha, I never said depression was a scam or sham or anything like that.

I know that there are people who are seriously suffering from depression out there, but they are far and in between. The majority of what is diagnosed as 'depression' simply isn't clinical, or even a depression at all.

I would bet everything I have that I could go to any doc right now, and come out with a diagnosis of clinical depression, and a pile of meds. I've got PCOS, and that alone qualifies for being stuffed to the hilt with all kinds of mood-affecting meds to 'keep the hormones in check'. I simply think that doctors are way, way too quick to call something a 'depression'.

That for starters, back to the topic at hand - food influencing how you feel. Of course it does. Of course some things you eat make you feel better than others. Common sense and experience would already tell me that.

Do I believe that food of any kind can CAUSE depression? Not for a second. It might have an influence on the severity through chemical reactions, but that's about it.

I also have problems with studies like that in general - how do they know that the people who had the depressions wouldn't have had them on a different diet? How do they know that they weren't pre-dispositioned to have depressions, no matter what they do? Only if EVERY other factor is ruled out, a study is actually 'proven'. So....stick them in a room, with no outside contact, no stimuli whatsoever, and feed them unhealthy food. After a few years of that, check for depression. Then feed them healthy food and see if they feel any better. My guess is - nope.

Of course such a study is impossible. Just trying to point out that there are millions of factors that influence these studies, especially when it comes to something as subjective as depression. What one person calls depression, I'd most likely call an average day.
 
I'm sorry San, but you're wrong.

Depression is very common - both the clinical kind and otherwise.

Sure, I agree that sometimes depression meds can be overprescribed, but that doesn't make the disease invalid or rare.

And studies CAN and HAVE been done that document the effects of the diet on brain chemistry. I don't know why you say such a study is impossible.
 
I have to agree with both of you here.

I know a couple people who suffer from depression, one mild case being my mom. However, I find it bizarre that a common cause of depression is from eating certain foods. I think certain people will turn to crappy foods because of their depression and that will only make it worse, but something else ignites the flame.
 
Diet for Depression
Dietary changes can bring about changes in your brain structure, both chemically and physiologically.

Diet and Depression: Is There a Link? Can it Hurt to Try? | Serendip's Exchange
One of the largest debates in diet therapy is one of which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg proportions. It appears as though depression can lead to a poor diet, as depression leads to a decrease in appetite and an increase in craving sugars and alcoholic substances. However, when looked at the other way around, it also becomes evident that poor diets can be a contributing factor to depression, as explained by the side effects of deficiencies in the minerals and foods mentioned above. So, which is it, then? Does depression lead to a poor diet, or does a poor diet result in depression? Can the two be separated from one another, either way?

And here's the actual study referenced in the first post.
Researchers Say Healthy Diet Protects Against Depression In Middle Age
 
San said:
Woha, I never said depression was a scam or sham or anything like that...

Do I believe that food of any kind can CAUSE depression? Not for a second. It might have an influence on the severity through chemical reactions, but that's about it.

I also have problems with studies like that in general - how do they know that the people who had the depressions wouldn't have had them on a different diet? How do they know that they weren't pre-dispositioned to have depressions, no matter what they do? Only if EVERY other factor is ruled out, a study is actually 'proven'. So....stick them in a room, with no outside contact, no stimuli whatsoever, and feed them unhealthy food. After a few years of that, check for depression. Then feed them healthy food and see if they feel any better. My guess is - nope.

Of course such a study is impossible. Just trying to point out that there are millions of factors that influence these studies, especially when it comes to something as subjective as depression. What one person calls depression, I'd most likely call an average day.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. The study does not say that certain foods actually cause depression, it merely says that links were found between processed foods and depression. And when you think about it from a scientific perspective, it is not wholly impossible.

A balanced diet which provides an average, healthy individual with all of the vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other substances needed for proper health provides each of the body's systems with what they need to function at their optimum. When you take some of that away, deficiencies develop and the body's systems can no longer function as well as they need to. Deficiencies can affect your sleep patterns, bowel movements, sugar intake and other important functions severely. These changes in the body's systems and ability to perform certain functions as it should can release toxins into the body or cause the body not to filter toxins as well, and many of these toxins can affect all parts of our bodies, including our brains and therefore our emotions. Simply put, when the body doesn't get what it needs, it can't do what it was made to do properly and we suffer as a result. Not a hard concept to visualize.

It seems that you aren't too keen on medicating every problem that comes along, and I quite agree with you there. But the thing about a study like this and the information it provides, could mean that we're on our way to finding better ways to treat ailments such as depression without medicating every patient. If doctors took the time to investigate a patient's habits and diet before prescribing medication, they might notice some similarities to a study like this and more than likely a high intake of processed foods. Simply helping patients by putting them with a nutritionist and getting then on a proper, regular diet might end up being much more effective and less toxic on the body than prescribing meds.

Most of our bodies' processes can be explained through science. And often times, most ailments we experience have to do with our diets. One could simply perform a test on themselves at home by keeping a food journal and trying a week or 2 weeks with processed foods vs. whole or organic foods and recording any differences in feelings, energy, endurance, focus etc. because all of those things can have an effect on depression.

We will never know for sure if someone is predisposed to depression, though I've never heard of it being a hereditary trait. However, simple tests like the one described above can give you an idea of how eating certain foods can regulate the body or cause the body to become irregular. You should try it some time just to see, though be careful of the amounts, calories etc. that you take in. Just eat as you normally would on an ordinary, busy day for a week or 2, then switch over and consume nothing but whole and organic foods for another week or 2. I am almost certain you'll see and feel a difference.

- DH
 
I honestly don't understand how human beings can be so ignorant. Seriously, do we need a long, drawn out and expensive study to tell us that depression can be linked to eating processed foods? Processed foods are bad for us and make us fat. Fat people have a higher tendency to be unhappy, due to their belittlement from society. People who feel left out obviously have a tendency to develop some sort of depression.

...we needed a STUDY to tells us that?

Also, just as with cancer, depression can be linked to every single thing that exists in our lives - our surroundings, the air we breathe, the food we eat, etc. Studies like this are doing nothing but telling us things that we already know.
 
Maybe processed is one of the causes of depression. Eating right makes us feel right. But depression does not solely caused by improper diet. Many factors involved such as chemical imbalances, genes, environmental factor, and relationship disharmony.
 
I believe our bodies are wise, and they tend to get depressed when we are not feeding them properly. I know it sounds silly but mine does, when I am eating a lot of junk I start to feel ill. I get constipated, angry, gloomy instead of when my diet consists mainly on veggies, fruits, whole grain bread etc.

maybe depression is just the way to tell us we are not giving our bodies what they need to function properly? to me it is very complicated because I am emotional binger so it is a vicious, horrible cycle in which eating makes me unhappy and being unhappy makes me eat.
but I do believe depression and eating processed food are linked, for sure
 
Its very bad and the depression is effect any level of age. How people are so negative attitude with few peoples. They have no any rights to put in depression.

Janet
 
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