Optimism or depression, are they caused by food?

Time and time again we have heard the eternal phrase "we are what we eat".  Many choose to ignore this and continue to fill their bodies with unhealthy foods.  I am a firm believer that our diet also effects our psychological state and vice a versa.  Many people can't make healthy changes to their diet simply because they can't get their head around it.  Or how many times have you been feeling great and then eaten a large piece of chocolate cake and instantly felt guilty or regretted even ordering it?  Well it has now been proven that your diet really does effect your state of mind.

For starters, sugar and artificial sweeteners may produce and increased risk of depression.  Both increment the risk of chronic inflammation, which can seriously upset brain function.

The preliminary findings in a study that will be presented at the 65th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology show that drinking sweetened drinks - it makes no difference if they are sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners - is associated with an increased risk of depression while coffee was associated with a slightly reduced risk.

WebMD: "Researchers say the findings suggest that cutting down on sweetened drinks or replacing them entirely with non-sweetened beverages may help lower depression risk."

The study included almost 264,000 American adults over the age of 50, who were involved in the AARP diet and health study.  At the beginning of the study, the participants completed a detailed dietary survey.  At a 10 year follow-up, they were asked if they had been diagnosed with depression at any time during the 10 years.

Researchers found that those participants who drank more than four cans or glasses of diet soda or other artificially sweetened drinks had a nearly 30% higher risk of depression compared to those who did not consume diet beverages.

Those who drank regular sodas had a 22% increased risk of depression.

Coffee drinkers who drank four cups of coffee per day were found to have a 10% decreased risk of depression, compared to those participants who drank none.  Researcher Honglei Chen, MD, PhD, of the National Institute of Health (NIH) commented on WebMD:

"While our findings are preliminary, and the underlying biological mechanisms are not known, they are intriguing and consistent with a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages may be associated with poor health outcomes."

This research does not prove causation, and some are of the opinion that people suffering from depression tend to turn to sweet foods and drinks for comfort, these is plenty of evidence to indicate that both sugar and artificial sweeteners can have a significant and detrimental impact on mental health.

On a more optimistic note, a study has been carried out at the Harvard School of Public Health, lead by Julia Boehm and published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

These investigators have discovered that people who eat plenty of fruit and vegetables tend to be more optimistic about the future.  These more optimistic people have higher blood levels of plant compounds called carotenoids.

Carotenoids are one of many antioxidants which help keep other molecules in the body from producing free radicals which are harmful to cells and contribute to disease.

"Individuals with greater optimism tended to have greater levels of carotenoids such as beta-carotene," said Julia Boehm, "This is the first study of its kind to report a relationship between optimism and healthier levels of carotenoid concentrations."

The study centered on 982 men and women from the Midlife in the USA study and results were based on self-reported optimism (assessed with the revised Life Orientation Test) and serum concentrations of nine different antioxidants (carotenoids and Vitamin E).  For every standard deviation increase in optimism, carotenoid concentrations increased by 3-13% in age adjusted models.  Optimism was not significantly associated with Vitamin E.

The study concluded that optimism was associated with greater carotenoid concentrations, however, the direction of effects cannot be conclusively determined.  Effects may be bidirectional given that optimists are likely to engage in health behaviors associated with more serum antioxidants, and more serum antioxidants are likely associated with better physical health that enhances optimism.  For example, people who are optimistic or have a positive outlook on life, tend to take more exercise and eat a healthy diet... and vice a versa.

So, if you needed yet another reason to eat more fruit and vegetables, well here you have it, so dig in!


Social Nutrition:
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