How artificially sweetened ultra-processed foods are linked to depression in women

If you often consume ultra-processed food and drinks, you might want to keep a check on your intake from now. Research published in the United States journal JAMA Network Open has found a link between the consumption of ultra-processed food and drinks, especially those containing artificial sweeteners, and depression in women. The study revealed that eating greater amounts of ultra-processed food is associated with a higher risk of depression. Ultra-processed foods include prepackaged soups, sauces, soft drinks, chips, chocolate, sausages, French fries, sodas, ice cream, store-purchased candies, cookies, and foods and drinks containing artificial sweeteners. Studies have previously associated the intake of ultra-processed foods with obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer. In July, the World Health Organization had labelled Aspartame — an artificial sweetener found in many ultra-processed drinks — as “potentially carcinogenic”. How was the study conducted? What are the findings? Let’s take a closer look. The research Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham Hospital in Massachusetts analysed the diets and mental health of over 30,000 middle-aged women between 2003 and 2017 who did not have depression at the start. Depression was defined under two categories by researchers: strict and broad. A strict version referred to patients self-reporting that they were diagnosed by a doctor for the condition and regularly took antidepressants. The broader category meant patients had a clinical diagnosis and/or used antidepressants. Researchers also took into account known or suspected risk factors for depression such as physical activity, alcohol and tobacco use, other health issues and age. The findings Of the total 31,712 women who participated in the study, 2,122 had strict depression and 4,820 had broad depression. The study found women who ate nine portions or more of ultra-processed foods a day were at a 49 per cent higher risk of depression compared to those consuming four portions or less daily. Moreover, the participants who cut their consumption of ultra-processed food by at least three servings a day were less susceptible to depression than those with relatively stable intake, according to the study. “Our study focused on the link between foods and subsequent risk of developing a new episode of depression,” study co-author Dr Andrew T Chan, a Daniel K Podolsky professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, was quoted as saying by CNN. “However, there is also the possibility that for individuals with chronic depression, ultra-processed food can worsen their condition,” Chan added. [caption id=“attachment_13154472” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Artificially sweetened drinks enhance the risk of depression the highest, as per the study. Wikimedia Commons (Representational Image)[/caption] The study also discovered that artificially sweetened drinks enhanced the risk of depression the highest, followed by artificial sweeteners (26 per cent), sweet snacks (6 per cent) and frozen foods (4 per cent), noted The Sun. “These findings suggest that greater ultra-processed foods intake, particularly artificial sweeteners and artificially sweetened beverages, is associated with increased risk of depression,” the authors of the research said, as per The Guardian. “Experimental studies have shown that artificial sweeteners may trigger the transmission of particular signalling molecules in the brain that are important for mood.” ALSO READ: Love French fries, think again. How they could leave you feeling anxious and depressed Where the study lacks The researchers acknowledged that participants included mostly white women aged between 42 and 62 years, thus making the study limited in terms of diversity. The study also only examined whether a link existed between depression and ultra-processed foods, not the reason for its existence. “There is also a link between ultra-processed food and disruption of the gut microbiome. This is an important potential mechanism linking ultra-processed food to depression since there is emerging evidence that microbes in the gut have been linked with mood through their role in metabolising and producing proteins that have activity in the brain,” Chan told CNN. Independent experts have called for more research on the subject. [caption id=“attachment_13154482” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Experts say more research is needed to establish a link between ultra-processed food and drinks and the risk of depression. Pixabay
(Representatuonal Image)[/caption] “This study provides an insight into a potential role of artificial sweeteners in mental and physical health, but this needs to be confirmed through further research beyond observational data alone,” Dr Sharmali Edwin Thanarajah, a neurologist in Germany, said, as per Daily Mail. Professor David Curtis, an honorary professor at University College London Genetics Institute, said: “The only foodstuffs which [this study] shows are associated with increased risk of depression are artificial sweeteners. Of course, this does not mean that an effect of artificial sweeteners is to increase depression risk – it is just that people with increased risk of developing depression tend to consume larger quantities of artificial sweeteners.” Speaking to Forbes, Chan, a professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, said that the study suggested that people, especially those struggling with mental health, “may wish to limit their intake of ultra-processed foods wherever possible.” With inputs from agencies