Eating junk food may make you prone to depression

Have you felt bummed out after binging on doughnuts or hamburgers? That’s because depression and diet may be related. Research suggests that eating a poor diet can make you more vulnerable to depression.

Research findings:

• Eating foods high in trans fats (artificially produced, unnatural fats) increase the risk of depression.
• Eating fish, vegetable oils and olive oil are associated with lower risk of depression.

A group of researchers in Britain looked at depression and diet in over 3,000 middle-aged office workers over the course of five years. They found that people who ate a junk food diet —one high in processed meat, chocolates, sweet desserts, fried food, refined cereals and high-fat dairy products — were more likely to report symptoms of depression.

Another group of researchers at the Universities of Navarra and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain followed and analyzed the diet and lifestyle of over 12,000 volunteers over six years. When the study began, none of the participants had been diagnosed with depression. But by the end, there were 657 new sufferers.

The researchers found that eating trans fats increased the risk of depression by 48%. But consuming olive oil reduced the chance of getting depression by 35%. That’s because olive oil is high in healthy omega-9 fatty acids. They also found that polyunsaturated fats (these are typically liquid at room temperature and when chilled) like oils from nuts and seeds, lower the risk of depression.”

These studies also help to explain how people in Northern European countries and here in North America (where processed foods are more common) have more mental health problems compared with those living in Southern Mediterranean countries, where fresh fish, beans, salads and olive oil are daily staples.

More research needs to be done on the connection between depression and diet. In the meantime, you might want to eat your veggies and cut back on the junk food.

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