The Relationship Between Sugar and Depression

The type of food you eat can have a detrimental effect not only on your body but also on your mood and mental health. There are studies how sugar and depression are connected. Eating excessive sugar may amount to sudden peaks in the level of glucose in your blood. Found in complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, and grains), sugar in its pure and more harmful form is present in refined carbohydrates like bakery items, bread, cold drinks, pasta, etc.

What Links Sugar and Depression?

Sugar tends to interfere with the supply of Chromium – a nutrient involved with your mood, thus restricting your insulin to work properly. There is a concerning connection between your sugar consumption and depression. Here are seven associations between sugar and depression.

1. Refined Foods and Sugar

Research shows that people who have a diet containing an ample amount of processed foods have around 58% increased the risk of depression than those with a menu comprising of whole foods.

Keep depression at bay by piling up your plate with plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and roots. Keeping a food journal can also help you manage your diet in an organized manner.

2. Sugar’s Effect on Inflammation

When your intake of refined carbs is high, it may promote inflammation in your body tissues. While a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables may reduce inflammation in your body. Many health conditions can come to haunt you in the middle age owing to Chronic Inflammation – Like cancer, metabolic disorder, and asthma.

Studies have linked inflammation to depression too. Both have common underlying symptoms such as reduced appetite, insomnia, or changes in sleep patterns, and heightened pain perceptions. If you undergo any of such symptoms, it is necessary to plan a visit to your healthcare specialist. Some tests will clarify if you have also got any other health conditions related to inflammation or not.

3. Insulin and Depression

Unlike Type 2 diabetes, depression is curable. Some researchers decided to take this link between sugar and depression to the next level. They studied insulin to treat depression. In an experiment involving people with both insulin resistance and depression, the participants showed considerable improvement in depression when they took anti-diabetic drugs for 12 weeks. However, it is not at that stage where doctors can prescribe insulin for diabetics. Therefore it is important to discuss alternative medicine options with your healthcare specialist before proceeding further.

4. Men More Prone to Sugar’s Health Outcomes

Research reveals that men may be more vulnerable to the mental health outcomes of sugar than women. A study conducted found that men who consumed 67 grams of sugar per day were 23 percent more prone to the risks of depression. On the other side, men who ate 40 grams or less were less likely to develop risks of depression.

5. Artificial Sweeteners and Depression

If you are under the impression that you can swap refined sugar for artificial sweeteners, you are mistaken. Research says that artificial sweeteners are even more harmful than regular sugar. As per the studies, those who consume more than four cans of artificially sweetened beverages or diet soda have a 30% higher risk of gaining depression. Those who drink less regularly or so have a 22% risk.

6. Quality of Carbs and Depression Risk

Carbs or carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, bread, dairy items, and cereals, and are an essential component of a healthy diet. Different types of carbs have unique impacts on the blood sugar level.

Glycemic index (GI) is the measure of the effect of different foods on your blood sugar levels. Foods having a low GI are slowly digested and are a preferred choice. While foods with high GI value are easy to break down, rapidly digested and absorbed, these should be limited in consumption.

A study with around 70,000 postmenopausal women ate foods with different GI scores. The result showed that women who consumed high GI foods have a higher risk of depression than women who ate lower GI foods. The results indicated that the quality of carbs consumed affect the risk of depression.

7. Sugar and Thyroid

The inadequate amount of blood sugar levels also messes with your thyroid. Thyroid determines how your body utilizes energy and makes proteins. It also regulates your metabolism, body temperature, and one’s growth & development, making it critical to your mood.

8 Tips for Reducing Suger in Your Diet

Staying vigilant about how much your sugar consumption is is essential. Here are a few tips from experts on how to cope up with your sweet tooth urges:

1. No Soda Pop

Ditch your habit of grabbing a Coke when thirsty. Rid your refrigerator of all sugar-sweetened beverages, soda, smoothies and other obvious sauces of simple sugar.

2. Don’t Over Eat

It is of paramount importance that you be honest regarding the amount you eat. Overeating is easy to do with sweet sugary snacks. This problem can quickly snowball. Take note of just how many cookies you are consuming.

3. Medications Conflicts

Ask your healthcare specialist if any of your medications are stimulating your appetite or your blood sugar problems. Many medications tend to trigger your craving for sweets. Try controlling those by consulting your doctor regarding the same.

4. Keep Busy

When you feel that craving is calling you to attack the fridge for something sweet, try diverting your mind by doing something else – like going for a walk or taking a bubble bath.

5. Thirsty?

Your body might be taking wrong cues while you are just thirsty. Keep your body hydrated by drinking lots of water.

6. Eat Good Food

Choose quality carbs, picking whole grains, and keeping away from processed foods. Eat-in good quantity and don’t save that extra space for dessert.

7. Read Food Labels

It is common for food manufacturers to add extra sugar in canned products to boost flavor. Be wary of the food you buy.

8. Ditch Dairy

Swap your dairy-based desserts with healthier substitutes like a freshly cut fruit, dates or dark chocolate.

Conclusion

There is a growing amount of evidence revealing that consuming abnormally high amounts of sugar arising from simple carbs can impact more than just your waistline. You may consult your doctor or a licensed dietician to work on your sugar intake. Complex carbohydrates found in fruits and vegetables can help lower your sugar and thus the health risks linked to the same.