Processed food link to depression

[nburge]

Just seen this article in the news today: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8334353.stm - yet another reason to chow down on whole, unprocessed foods wherever possible.

[Wellhairedbeast]

While i would say whole natural foods are better for you mentally and physically due to the nutrients the study itself is flawed as a correlation does not mean cause and effect.

But the important of "real" food can not be understated.

[hardestgainer]

I would have thought that depressed people are more likely to want processed food. I can't say that I felt like the world had suddenly changed when I stopped drinking fizzy drinks and eating ice cream a while back. I don't miss much of the junk food though.

[Wellhairedbeast]

I would have thought that depressed people are more likely to want processed food. I can't say that I felt like the world had suddenly changed when I stopped drinking fizzy drinks and eating ice cream a while back. I don't miss much of the junk food though.

One of the problems with using statistics in such a way, on the news this morning they did say do address the problem of comfort eating the looked at people who developed depression on such diets, but even so that is not proof of cause an effect. Many people on bad diets are on low incomes which over time take their toll and may lead to depression. So that is also a factor.

Now i will re-emphasise that whole and real food is better than processed for your body and mind, the brain is a muscle after all, but this study only suggests that and doesn't prove anything. Processing takes out many nutrients the mind and body need, while often adding chemicals that should not be ingested naturally. The proof is in the microbiology not surveys and statistics.

btw- im not trying to disagree with you nburge i agree with the sentiment of the article its just the evidence, although the result would support my own feelings, i just don't like relying on bad evidence.

[nburge]

I agree wellhairedbeast - I hate it when there are leaps of faith between cause and effect too. In this instance the article does state that there was no previous depression in those that started the study - so at the time they began the study they were not depressed but were eating processed food. By the end of the study those eating processed food were more likely to be in the group with depression at the end than those that were eating whole food.

With anything like depression, heart disease etc the causes are multifactorial and it is very difficult to tie cause and effect together in such a neat fashion. I feel much better this year mentally, but a lot of that is probably also due to me being happier at work, with my girlfriend and because I exercise a lot - very difficult to say whether I eat whole foods because I'm now more into exercise, and it's the exercise that's made me happier or whether the opposite is true.

[Wellhairedbeast]

It would also be interesting to see when they took the final statistics if it was in winter time then "winter blues" would also affect the results.

[nburge]

Maybe. These are all civil servants too, who are massively prone to depression as it means a cushy little patch of time off for fully paid sick leave. I used to work in a housing benefit office in my breaks at Uni, and I've never met so many people complaining of stress, depression and other un-provable illnesses in my life. I can't recall whether they were overly fond of processed foods or not though - mostly they lived on tea and biscuits..........

[hardestgainer]

I've got a question, does anyone feel depressed at Christmas or Eater when you're eating a load of chocolate or similar stuff? I haven't included Birthdays because a lot of people find being a year older depressing.

[Wellhairedbeast]

I've got a question, does anyone feel depressed at Christmas or Eater when you're eating a load of chocolate or similar stuff? I haven't included Birthdays because a lot of people find being a year older depressing.

People will be down anyway due to the harsher weather, not only is the cold mentally draining and not creating a happy environment but you will also have a contribution (of most people) in less exercises, so less endorphins. This is a phenomen known as the winter blues.

[tenkev]

Chocolate makes me happy.

[nburge]

WHB - would be interesting to see whether those in the southern hemisphere experience the same thing around xmas - my guess is you're right, but they could prove a good counterpoint.

I get bored with xmas but not just due to the weather - mainly because I've had never-ending-commercial-crap forced down my throat since August and by xmas I'm sick to the back teeth with it!!!

I do always try to take a vacation somewhere hot and sunny at that time of the year to take me through the winter blues too.....

[itsbruce]

A lot of people get very depressed at Christmas because they are lonely. This will affect them even if they're living on the equator.