Writing this post makes me a little sad, mainly because I like junk food so much and I’m pretty sure many of you will agree with me on that. Hot dogs, sausages, pies, cakes, we love them, they are filling and they taste great; but we need to face facts. They are not good for us, not just in terms of our physical health, but our mental health as well. Research suggests that eating too much processed and fatty food increases the risk of developing depression (NOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo!!!! Processed and fatty foods are my favourite! WHY?!).
There are many different types of foods and ingredients that can cause depression or make it worse than it already is. However the biggest culprits are refined sugar and processed fructose. Also, sugar has been known to stop the activity of a particular growth hormone called brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF). Apparently BDNF levels are critically low in both depression and schizophrenia.
Also taking a diet which is high in sugar causes chronic inflammation in our bodies which really messes with our immune system, and that can have serious repercussions on our physical and mental health. In other words mother was right; too much candy is not good for you, in more ways than one.
If that wasn’t bad enough, a study conducted by James E. Gangwisch, PhD, an assistant professor at Columbia University in the department of psychiatry, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that people who take foods with a high glycemic index (GI) – a scale that ranks carbohydrate-containing foods by how much they raise your blood sugar – are at risk of depression. The study focused mostly on post-menopausal women but it suggests that these foods can affect everyone.
Other processed food ingredients that promote depression are:
- Genetically engineered (GE) ingredients
- Glyphosate
- Artificial food additives
- Gluten
There is more to this than what I’ve written in this post, if you want to know more you can check out my source material:
“Scientific Links Between Processed Foods and Depression Keep Getting Stronger,” posted on mercola.com
“High glycemic index diet as a risk factor for depression: analyses from the Women’s Health Initiative,” posted on ajcn.nutrition.org
“The Strange Link Between Junk Food and Depression,” written by Mandy Oaklander, posted on time.com
We’re coming to the end of the post so I’ll wrap this up. Like I said before processed food is bad for you, in an ideal world you should probably stop eating it altogether, but luckily you don’t have to, and I’m not just saying that to give myself an excuse. To help make my point, watch this video about processed ramen noodles to the very end.
It doesn’t paint a pretty picture about processed ramen noodles but if you watched it to the end you would have seen that the scientist still does eat processed ramen but in moderation and that is the key word here. The human body is capable of a lot of things and can put up with a lot too, but there is a limit; we can still eat processed foods as long as we eat it in moderation and don’t go over the limit. So enjoy your food, but be mindful about how much of it you eat, you’ll be happier for it.
Alternative Yoga 