Eating junk food may be the reason you’re feeling anxious or depressed

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Eating ultra-processed foods could be the cause of many cases of anxiety and depression, explains a new study. Researchers at the Florida Atlantic University Schmidt School of Medicine say they have found a connection between consuming too much junk food and more adverse mental health symptoms.

“Ultra-processed” is another way of saying that these products are usually manufactured and ready to eat right out of their packaging. They are generally convenient, cheap, quick to prepare, and consist of industrial formulations of oils, fats, sugars, starch, and isolated proteins. Processed foods also often contain flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives. What they don’t contain much is whole foods and nutrition.

Common examples of these products include sugary drinks like sodafast food, chips, candy, sugar-filled cakes, and processed meats like hamburgers and hot dogs.

The researchers say there have been previous studies that found a link between consume ultra-processed foods and depression, but few reports have examined the total number of days of poor mental health that people experience from eating junk food. The new study looked at a nationally representative sample of American adults to see if consuming more ultra-processed foods increases the number of mentally unhealthy days people have.

The team measured instances of mild depression, the number of days of poor mental health, and the number of anxious days among 10,359 adults over the age of 18 who participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Junk food leads to more ‘anxious’ days

The results reveal that Americans who consumed the highest amounts of ultra-processed foods reported having significantly more “mentally unhealthy days” and “crazy days” compared to people who generally avoid these foods.

People who eat junk food regularly were also much less likely to have zero “mentally unhealthy days” and zero “anxious days” The team believes their findings apply to people living in the United States as well as people living in other Occidental countries” that share a similar diet.

“The ultra-processing of foods depletes their nutritional value and also increases the number of calories, since ultra-processed foods tend to be high in added sugar, saturated fat and salt, while being low in protein, fiber, vitamins , minerals and phytochemicals. says corresponding author Eric Hecht, MD, Ph.D., an affiliated associate professor at FAU’s Schmidt School of Medicine, in a college throw.

“More than 70 percent of packaged foods in the US are classified as ultra-processed foods and they account for about 60 percent of all calories consumed by Americans. Given the magnitude of the exposure and the effects of the consumption of ultra-processed foods, our study has important clinical and public health implications.”

The study authors note that they used the NOVA food classification during their research. This system was recently adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. NOVA examines the nature, scope, and purpose of food processing before classifying foods and beverages into four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods.

The findings appear in the diary. public health nutrition.