The danger that is sugar:
How this food item increases your risk for depression and anxiety
(Natural News)
You probably crave sweets once in a while and for good reason – a preference
for sweets is a survival mechanism that protects humans from ingesting toxic
foods. Sweet foods are also a common comfort food that instantly makes you feel
better when they’re stressed or lonely. However, your sweet tooth is exposing
you to more danger than you thought possible – apart from the inevitable weight
gain, there is a strong link between a diet that is high in sugar and
conditions like depression, anxiety, and stress. To understand why, you
have to know how sugar affects how your brain behaves.
How sugar affects
your brain
White sugar, or pure white
crystalline sucrose, commonly extracted from sugar cane or sugar beets,
contains no nutritional value and acts more like a drug than a food. This means
that it is possible to get addicted to sugar. You may even experience
nasty withdrawal symptoms when you consume sugar in much smaller quantities
than you are accustomed to.
Sucrose has two components – glucose
and fructose – that are structurally very similar, but behave differently
inside the body and may affect your mood. Glucose is the brain’s main energy
source and is essential to life. It is a simple sugar molecule, a building
block of complex carbohydrates that are plant-based, such as whole grains,
legumes, and vegetables, to name a few. It circulates in your blood and
provides energy to all of your cells, particularly brain cells, which always
uses up a lot of energy. The brain is in constant need of glucose because it
cannot store energy. It literally runs on glucose most of the time.
The problem with
added sucrose
If glucose is found in complex
carbohydrates, fructose is found in fruit and sweet vegetables such as carrots,
beets, and yams. Only liver cells can process fructose, unlike glucose which is
metabolized by every cell in the body for energy. Fructose that is naturally
occurring in fruits and vegetables is not a problem, as it can easily be
handled by your body.
The problem is added fructose that
comes from concentrated sweeteners, such as refined sugars and high-fructose
corn syrup. A diet that is high in added fructose raises blood sugar
levels. Elevated blood sugar levels can lead to heart and liver diseases,
as well as kidney complications. It also increases the risk of obesity and Type
2 diabetes and contributes to chronic inflammation, which causes a wide range
of psychiatric disorders.
While consuming sweets when
you’re down or stressed can make you feel better temporarily, the fact is
that sugar actually feeds depression. Numerous studies have
proven that there is a highly significant correlation between sugar consumption and depression rate,
including that of the Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification
Trial. The study followed the diet of over 49,000 women over eight years,
and findings state that sugar and processed grains increase the risk of
depression, while a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables can help
decrease the risk.
Here’s how sugar causes depression:
- It increases brain inflammation.
- It causes a serotonin crash.
- It suppresses brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a natural antidepressant.
Another surprising finding of the
study is that following a low-fat diet does not have health benefits nor does
it lower the participants’ risks for heart disease or cancer. A low-fat diet
does not aid in weight loss either. This means two things – that sugar and
refined carbohydrates are the main culprits in most diseases, including obesity
and depression, and that healthy fats are critical in maintaining a healthy
weight, as well as optimum brain health and function.
The next time you’re feeling blue,
you can do yourself a favor by staying away from cake and candy. Instead, you
can engage in activities like running, listening to music, or meditating.
