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A Sweet Tooth May Be The Cause Of Depression

The study points out that in men the effects are prevalent generally five years prior to the increased sugar intake, and in general there are adverse effects for both the sexes.

A Sweet Tooth May Be The Cause Of Depression

Sugar rich diet may cause depression and anxiety

The mere thought of a donuts can bring a smile to all our faces! Right? Not entirely true if we are to believe the research done by Researchers at University College London, which says that there is an increased chance of common mental disorders like anxiety and depression for those people who have a high sugar content in their diet. The study points out that in men the effects are prevalent generally five years prior to the increased sugar intake, and in general there are adverse effects for both the sexes.

The study says that increased sugar might increase inflammation in the body, which could lead to mood swings. Dopamine could also be a reason, as another study had said that sweet foods could be as addictive as cocaine. Dietician Catherine Collins, a spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, however bluntly said that these studies are yet to be proved and thus are not a reliable source to make alterations in our diet.


"The dietary analysis makes it impossible to justify the bold claims made by the researchers about sugar and depression in men," Collins said via the Science Media Centre in London. "Reducing intake of free sugars is good for your teeth, and may be good for your weight, too. But as protection against depression? It's not proven."

Her points to render this study incredible were quite simple and factual, she said that the major flaw was that the data related to sugar intake was self reported by the participants and hence could not be accounted for. Moreover, the researchers did not count the sugar intake from the alcohol consumption, another reason which shows the inaccuracy of the data. There was also no segregation between natural sugar and artificially added sugar.

Nutrition expert Tom Sanders agreed the results should be interpreted "with caution". "From a scientific stand point it is difficult to see how sugar in food would differ from other sources of carbohydrate on mental health as both are broken down to simple sugars in the gut before absorption," he said.

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