Sweets improve mood and help us cope with depression? Psychologists warn that everything could be exactly the opposite: sweet helps depression to deal with us. The abuse of sugar can aggravate our depression, and there are serious physiological reasons.
Such a hypothesis expressed in a scientific paper published in the journal Medical Hypotheses.
in Winter, many people feel depression and fatigue. Experts attribute this primarily to a lack of sunlight.
“the Decline [in the number] of sunlight in the winter, many people disrupts circadian rhythms, disrupts healthy sleep and pushes from 5 to 10% of the population to full-blown episode of clinical depression,” says co-author Stephen Ilardi (Stephen Ilardi) from the University of Kansas.
certain depressive symptoms in the cold season are almost 30% of the population, adds the researcher.
Thinking about the vanity of life, many of us are trying to cope with the surging emotions proven method: buy something sweet.
“One of the most common signs of depression that begins in winter is a craving for sugar,” says Ilardi.
besides, during the holidays we were literally surrounded by gastronomical pleasure, how can we not be tempted?
“When we eat sweets, they act like a drug, – says the expert. – They have an immediate effect in the form of mood enhancement, but in high doses they can also have paradoxical detrimental long-term consequences in the form of deterioration of mood and well-being, increased inflammation and weight gain.”
the Authors came to this conclusion after analyzing a large number of scientific literature.
Experts recommend to use not more than a tablespoon of added sugar per day.Photo Pixabay.
With the increase in weight is clear, but how sweet we canet worsen mood? Of course, the contemplation in the mirror of their altered dimensions – literally a good reason to be upset. But there are purely physiological way.
So, excessive consumption of sugar can aggravate inflammation. Meanwhile it is known that inflammatory hormones may nudge the brain to severe depression. At least half of depressed patients have elevated levels of inflammatory processes in the body.
in addition, our mood is affected by many species of bacteria in the body. They produce certain substances that, once in the blood, changing the psychological state of the person.
Many of them improve health, but there are exceptions. Excessive consumption of sugar favours the development for those microorganisms whose waste products provoke anxiety, stress and depression.
does this Mean that you do give up sweets? Of course not. The authors of the article recommend not to exceed the dose recommended by the American heart Association. It is 25 grams of added sugar per day (a tablespoon of sugar with a slide).
Recall that added sugar is the sugar added to food during its preparation, whether it’s home cooking or food production. It doesn’t include the carbohydrate initially contained in the product (for example, making the fruit sweet).
For optimal psychological well-being, the authors recommend a diet rich in plant foods and omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids. But ultramontane products is unlikely to improve the mood.
However, the researchers say, that in this matter a greater role played by individual differences.
“there is No single size-fits-all method to accurately predict how the human body reacts to any given food at any given dose,” warns Ilardi.
By the way, earlier “News.Science” (nauka.vesti.ru) wrote about what is diet for hypertensive patients reduces the risk of depression. But fast food consumption, by contrast, is a risk factor for this disease.
Text: To.Science
