Mental health is on the rise more than ever, with twenty percent of the population dealing with mental illness. We must know the links and associations that can contribute to long-term mental illness. Now, we have found an association between our ultra-processed food diet and depression and anxiety through the causation of diabetes, obesity, and systemic inflammation, which can cause severe mental illness from the side effects and residual symptoms that these diseases bring. In this article, I am going to delve into the research behind how ultra-processed food and sugar could be linked to depression and anxiety.
How Refined Sugar Affects Your Emotions
Sugar is crucial for the proper function of neurotransmitters, but when we consume too much sugar, it can drain specific nutrients that affect our mood, memory, and emotional regulatory hormones. Small amounts of systemic inflammation caused by refined sugar increase the risk for metabolic dysfunction. With increased metabolic dysfunction comes mood dysregulation, which has been associated with an increased risk of depressive-like symptoms.
Refined sugar also drains certain B vitamins that are associated with a positive mood. It has also been associated with affecting the thyroid, which stimulates certain hormones that regulate thermodynamics, metabolism, and growth. When the thyroid is affected, it can affect someone's mindset.
Consuming too much sugar may lead to increased irritability peaks and drops in energy and mood. This is what causes high sugar consumption and sudden crashes after consuming sugar. This can make sugar extremely addictive, leading to emotional eating, which can be a coping mechanism for anxiety and depression. Over time, this will increase the need for more sugar, creating cravings.
This also can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. According to Diabetes UK, people with diabetes are twice as likely to experience symptoms of depression.
Processed Foods And Sugar Create Low-Level Systemic Inflammation.
Highly refined sugar and ultra-processed foods create chaos within our bodies, especially on a cellular level. This is what we classify as systemic inflammation, where your cells cannot handle the stress and lose oxygen, which begins the death of your cells, creating pain, brain fog, fatigue, and much more.
The ingredients in processed foods alter the bacteria that live in our gut. This alteration causes dysfunction in our bacteria and can overstimulate the immune system, eventually leading to chronic inflammation.
The more systemic inflammation we have, the higher risk we have of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, anxiety, and various other conditions. Inflammation is the beginning of all diseases and metabolic dysfunction.
Studies show a strong correlation between a highly processed food diet and a higher risk for depression, anxiety, and chronic stress. With increased inflammation across the body, our mental health begins to suffer.
Insulin Resistance Increases The Likelihood of Depression and Anxiety.
According to some sources it states that if you are insulin resistant, it doubles your risk of developing major depressive disorder.
When the brain cannot respond to insulin activity, this is known as brain insulin resistance. The nervous system controls these parts of the brain. Insulin resistance, reward-seeking behavior, depression, and obesity are all connected. When the dopamine centers of the brain are affected, it can lead to depressive symptoms.
A high-sugar diet actually affects the amygdala, one of the emotion control centers in the brain. When this part of the brain is stimulated, it can cause a fight-or-flight response, leading to a chance of overthinking, anxiety, irritability, and more.
Some studies imply that insulin resistance in the brain may harm the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis. This axis controls the brain's reaction to stress. When this part of the brain is damaged, it increases the likelihood of anxious and depressive symptoms.
Cortisol Creates More Stress Internally.
Your adrenal glands produce cortisol and adrenaline when you are stressed. When these hormones are released consistently, they can create more stress than normal, which can put you at risk for chronic stress, chronic fatigue, and adrenal fatigue.
Depression can bring about feelings of loneliness, sadness, hopelessness, disconnection, restlessness, and much more. These feelings can increase the release of stress hormones, and these hormones can increase the need to eat or take it away; both can be detrimental to our long-term health.
Stress drastically affects our gut health, and sugar destroys our microbiome, making it more difficult for our gut to create serotonin(our happiness hormone), an important hormone for relaxation and mood stabilization.
With increased feelings of sadness, anxiousness, and other mental health symptoms. It is important to recognize when your health is at risk; if you notice you are enjoying things less, constantly tired, craving junk food, stressed every day, or dealing with suicidal thoughts, please seek a professional to get the correct medical treatment.
How To Manage Sugar Consumption Naturally
If you feel you are struggling with controlling your sugar consumption, here are some quick and easy tips that can help you gain control of your sugar consumption.
Properly hydrate: 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated, and the reason for this is not because we don't drink enough water; it's because we don't drink the right kind of water. We must have electrolytes and minerals in our water to properly hydrate our body. When we crave sugar, it's actually because we are dehydrated; by increasing your electrolyte consumption the better you will be able to control your sugar consumption. Here are some delicious electrolytes (LINK)
Increase Magnesium intake: Your pancreas needs magnesium for proper amounts of insulin to produced so you can break down glucose. By increasing your magnesium intake, your body will get better at breaking sugar, reducing the craving. Here is a great magnesium product (LINK)
Exercise consistently: The more we move, the better our body can distribute and extract excess carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are immediate energy sources; by going for a walk after consuming sugar, your body can begin the breakdown process of glucose. I recommend going on post-meal walks for 10 minutes, boosting your metabolism, improving digestion, and increasing your energy.
Increase protein intake: Our body is mostly made of amino acids, and the more protein you eat, the more your body can recover. Protein is essential for building muscle, and the more muscle mass you have, the better your body can distribute and utilize sugar as energy. Over time, this will improve your metabolic rate, decrease sugar cravings, and improve body composition.
Sleep: When we don't get sufficient sleep, it increases our appetite and secretes the hormones leptin and ghrelin. When these hormones are out of balance, they can reduce our ability to control our appetite, increasing the chances for sugar cravings and unhealthy eating habits. By improving your sleep quality, the better you can control your appetite and decrease the chances of sugar cravings. It is recommended to try and aim for 6-8 hours of sleep per night.
Get your annual blood work done; the more you can stay in touch with what's happening inside, the better you can control what's happening outside. If you struggle to make lifestyle or behavior changes, contact a health coach who can help hold you accountable.
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