The strange link between junk food and depression

The strange link between junk food and depression

Depression is one of the modern diseases and is the biggest burden on the society. In a new study that was published in American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, they found out that our diet may also affect our depression.

Gangswich said that when he was a child he used to eat a lot of candy and he noticed that if he ate a lot of sugar one day, the next day he felt low.

Assistant professor in the psychiatry department, James E. Gangwisch at Coloumbia University wanted to find out that how foods are associated with human’s depression issue.

He and his team started their research by questionnaires. They gave these questions to women who were going through postmenopausal state. Data was collected from almost 70,000 women. The study wasn’t a success in the start because no one suffered from depression. This data was collected in the year between 1994 and 1998. They again started their study after a three year break.

Cardiovascular disease and inflammation are both linked with the development of depression. And the consumption of sugar and refined starches increased the risk of increment in inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers found that diets higher in glycemicx index which include refined grains and added sugar were associated with higher odds of depression. Foods with low glycemic index have protective effects against developing depression like vegetables, fruits and lactose etc.

Added sugars are strongly associated with depression.

Further research is needed on this study. Gangwisch’s study is still incomplete and he is not sure if the study may include broader group of people. But still to discuss diet with people suffering from depression will be the best thing to do. He says that it may be hard job to do, to stop people eating the food that they love but it’s for their own good, which you have to make them understand.