During moments of pressure, sorrow, merriment, joy, monotony, weekend evenings, or any other time, a lot of people find solace in chocolate, which has the potential to brighten up their mood, as well as provide a variety of heart-healthy benefits, as proven by numerous studies.
However, according to Brazilian scientists, it may also contribute to depression.
Their study found that people who eat the most ultra-processed foods are about 80% more likely to be depressed.
Some of these are chocolate, chips, cookies, ice cream, cake, and ready-to-eat meals.
Despite this, leading nutrition experts have spoken out against the study’s findings, stating that it is not feasible to determine conclusively whether the relationship between chocolate consumption and depression is causative.
According to Dr. Duane Mellor from Aston University in Birmingham, many of the foods implicated in the research as contributing to depression are not typically considered to be part of a healthy diet.
According to the expert, it is possible that depression-related variables might also cause a person to have an unhealthy food habit.
“Therefore, it is not possible to say ultra-processed foods are linked to depression.”
In the study, which was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, 2,572 Brazilian college and graduate students were asked about their eating and living habits.
All of the volunteers were asked to self-report how often they consumed 144 different items and the size of their portion sizes.
In addition to ultra-processed foods, burgers, and chips, it also had fruit and vegetables.
Ultra-processed foods often include five or more components as well as additional compounds such as emulsifiers and flavor simulators, which boost the shelf-life and taste of the meals but are not always beneficial for you.
In addition, participants were questioned about their lifestyle and health, including their BMI, if they smoked or drank alcohol, how much TV they watched each week, whether they had diabetes, and whether they had ever received a clinical depression diagnosis.
Researchers revisited the same questions every two years between 2016 and 2020.
As the study began in 2016, researchers discovered that the prevalence of depression in Brazil was quite high at 12.8%, compared to almost 5% in the global population, according to the World Health Organization.
Around 246 cases of depression were found during the course of the research.
In order to determine if there were any differences across diets, researchers divided the data into four groups.
During the course of the trial, those with the unhealthiest diets — with ultra-processed foods comprising at least 31% of their daily consumption — were up to 82% more likely to be diagnosed.
This was compared to those who consumed less than 16% of their daily calories.
Nevertheless, the group also had a higher likelihood of being overweight, living alone, watching more TV, and eating fewer vitamin-rich foods.
Also, since the research relied on self-reported data, some of the data may be incorrect.
The Mental Health Foundation’s Dr. David Crepaz-Keay said, “The relationship between our diet and our mental health is complicated.”
The Brazilian study adds a critical puzzle piece to the picture.
What we eat may influence our mood in a variety of ways, including directly via changes in brain chemistry, indirectly through effects on sleep, our physical health, and indirectly through how we feel about ourselves.
According to the expert, our bodies and brains need a healthy, balanced diet, which we cannot get just from ultra-processed foods, according to the expert.
Consuming sugary snacks and caffeinated drinks can provide a momentary surge of energy, but this is only temporary and may lead to sleep disturbance and negatively impact our mental well-being in the long run.
Source: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.120
Image Credit: Getty
