Yesterday was mental health day.
What if I told you that anxiety and the risk of depression can be managed with nutrition? Now I’ll tell you starting from how ⤵️
???? The more your daily calories come from ultra-processed foods, the more likely you are to experience anxiety and increase the risk of depression. All this regardless of gender, body mass index, age, marital status, social life situation or level of physical activity.*
???? Ultra-processed foods are of industrial origin and contain five or more ingredients which overall lead us to seek them, activating the circle of pleasure. The most common are sweeteners, preservatives, emulsifiers, artificial colors and flavors, sugars and vegetable oils.
???? An excess in particular of industrial fats and sugars activates a state of chronic inflammation which causes changes in the brain and thus induces neuroinflammation. There’s more: these nutrients can alter the balance of intestinal bacteria, favoring the development of the “bad” ones, an event which in turn influences brain discomfort.
✅ The good news? Here it is: reducing ultra-processed foods reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression**. An effect that is also enhanced through the adequate consumption of omega 3 fats which are able to train the resolving response to inflammation and reduce anxiety and depressive states.
Bibliography:
*Lane M.M. et al. High ultra-processed food consumption is associated with elevated psychological distress as an indicator of depression in adults from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 335, 15 August 2023, Pages 57-66.
** Lane M.M. et al. Change in Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Moderates Clinical Trial Outcomes in Depression: A Secondary Analysis of the SMILES Randomised Controlled Trial. August 2023, pre print.
Photo: Valentina Celeste
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2023-10-11 08:44:00
#Anxiety #risk #depression #nutrition #helps
