The link between unhealthy eating habits and chronic disease and disorders are well known but emotional well being is not as common. Writer Lori Alton wrote an article elaborating on the connection between mental and emotional health, and a diet dominated by processed foods and refined sugar. \u00a0Here are a couple of factors that link sugar and depression.<\/p>\n
Research is beginning to make the link between sugar\u2019s ability to raise levels of\u00a0inflammation\u00a0throughout the brain and body to higher incidences of\u00a0depression. For example, a study published in the JAMA Psychiatry discovered that\u00a0brain inflammation was 30 percent higher in clinically depressed patients. Reducing your intake of sugary foods and replacing them with anti-inflammatory choices can improve your mood.<\/p>\n
With data gleaned from the Women\u2019s Health Initiative, tracking more than 70,000 women, the study results showed that the higher a woman\u2019s blood sugar jumped after consuming sugar and refined grains, the greater her risk of developing depression.<\/p>\n
Published in the\u00a0American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers noted that their study also showed the opposite to be true: women consuming a diet high in whole grains and healthy produce reduced their risk of depression.<\/p>\n
Research has shown that consuming too many unhealthy trans fats can increase your chances of depression by as much as 48 percent.<\/p>\n
If you are thinking about giving up sugar and satisfying your sweet tooth with foods laden with\u00a0aspartame, think again. While you may be able to reduce your calories, these sugar alternatives are best avoided if you already suffer from symptoms of depression because research has shown they can drastically worsen symptoms.<\/p>\n
Nearly all scientific studies examining the link between poor diet and mental illnesses like depression have been focused on a specific food. But research published in the\u00a0British Journal of Psychiatry\u00a0looked at the diets of 3,000 people and found that\u00a0those who ate the most processed foods, had a much higher rate of depression\u00a0while those who ate primarily whole foods saw their rate of depression drop.<\/p>\n