According to a recent study, eating foods that have undergone extreme processing may be to blame for several incidences of depression and anxiety. The Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University claims to have discovered a link between excessive junk processed food consumption and worsening symptoms of mental illness.
Ultra-processed can cause depression and anxiety.
Such foods are often packaged and ready to consume when they’re taken out of the packaging, a different of referring to them as being ultra-processed. They often contain commercial fats, oils, sugars, starches, and protein formulas and are handy, affordable, and easy to make. Flavorings, colors, emulsifying agents, and other aesthetic ingredients are frequently added to processed meals. They are deficient in entire foods and nutrition, though.
Sweet beverages like fast food, soda, potato chips, sugary pastries, candy, and prepared meats such as sausages and burgers are typical examples of such foods.
Although past studies have evaluated the number of bad mental status days individuals experience after consuming junk food, very few have shown a correlation between eating processed food and depression. Therefore, the study evaluated a representative sample of American adults to ascertain if eating processed products increased the days of feeling mentally unhealthy.
Researchers measured mild depression cases versus the number of days one feels mentally unhealthy plus the anxious days in 10,359 participants above 18 years. Results indicated that those who consumed high quantities of ultra-processed products experienced more anxious and emotionally unhealthy days than those who avoided processed products.
Processed foods have high caloric content.
Ultra-processed foods have less nutritional value and contain more calories because they are typically high in added sugar, salt, and saturated fat and low in fiber, vitamins, protein, minerals, and phytonutrients. About 60% of the caloric intake by Americans comes from processed foods, of which over 70% are considered ultra-processed.
The research team thinks that its results apply to residents of the states in the US and residents of other “Western” nations with comparable diets.
