RESEARCHERS have confirmed a strong link between high sugar consumption and the risk of both depression and schizophrenia.
A British scientists-Malcolm Peet who led other researchers to conduct a provocative cross-cultural analysis of the relationship between diet and mental illness, discovered two potential mechanisms through which refined sugar intake could exert a toxic effect on mental health.
“First, sugar actually suppresses activity of a key growth hormone in the brain called BDNF. BDNF levels are critically low in both depression and schizophrenia.”
“Second, sugar consumption triggers a cascade of chemical reactions in the body that promote chronic inflammation. In the long term, inflammation disrupts the normal functioning of the immune system and wreaks havoc on your brain,” they stated.
Generally, it is known that many additives, preservatives and food colourants could cause behavioural changes.
One of the most recent and highly plausible theories that explain sugar’s impact on mood and mental health is the connection between sugar and chronic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation in the body is said to disrupt the normal functioning of the immune system, with the possibility of wreaking havoc on the brain.
Chronic inflammation is also associated with heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer.
“So consuming excessive amounts of sugar can truly set off an avalanche of negative health events – both mental and physical,” they submitted.
The importance of reducing inflammation when dealing with mental health issues is also evidenced by another recent study published in the International Breastfeeding Journal, the study entitled “A New Paradigm for Depression in New Mothers: The Central Role of Inflammation and How Breastfeeding and Anti-Inflammatory Treatments Protect Maternal Mental Health” discovered that inflammation may be more than just another risk factor. It may in fact be the risk factor that underlies all others.”
The researchers stated: “The old paradigm described inflammation as simply one of many risk factors for depression. The new paradigm is based on more recent research that has indicated that physical and psychological stressors increase inflammation. These recent studies constitute an important shift in the depression paradigm: inflammation is not simply a risk factor; it is the risk factor that underlies all the others.
Moreover, inflammation explains why psychosocial, behavioural and physical risk factors increase the risk of depression. This is true for depression in general and for postpartum depression in particular.
Other studies have also found significant links between high-sugar diets and mental health problems such as depression and schizophrenia, even though they were not focused on the presence of inflammation per se.
For instance, a 2004 study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that a higher dietary intake of refined sugar and dairy products predicted a worse two-year outcome of schizophrenia.
In addition, a low dietary intake of fish and seafood (sources of healthy omega-3 fats) predicated high prevalence of depression.
The authors also pointed out the link between depression and physical illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes, stating that they all share epidemiological features.
According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, high sugar content and starchy carbohydrates lead to excessive insulin release, which can lead to falling blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia, in turn, causes your brain to secrete glutamate in levels that can cause agitation, depression, anger, anxiety, panic attacks and an increase in suicide risk.
Two studies that confirm this theory go back several years. A 1985 study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology found that reducing sugar intake had a positive impact on emotions: “… subjects reported many symptoms and/or presented a distressed profile during baseline assessment. However, following a two-week dietary change symptoms declined and the MMPI or POMS profiles reflected a more stable and less distressed individual.
Results suggest that a dietary change can remediate the emotional distress exhibited by some individuals…”
The dietary change consisted of a high protein, low carbohydrate diet void of sucrose and caffeine.
The other, the Los Angeles Probation Department Diet-Behaviour Programme: An Empirical Analysis of Six Institutional Settings, was published in 1983.
This study included a before and after comparison of 1,382 juveniles who were detained in three juvenile halls, and a before-after comparison of 289 juveniles who were confined in three juvenile camps.
The dietary modifications were designed to lower the daily consumption of sugar in all six settings to see if it had an impact on behaviour.
In the three juvenile halls, a 44 per cent reduction in the incidence of antisocial behaviour was found during the subsequent three months. And the 289 juveniles in the probation camps showed a 25 per cent reduction in the incidence of antisocial behaviour during the nine months after the implementation of the revised diet.
The authors concluded: “Although it is clear that the diet change caused the improvement in behaviour, it remains to be determined if the relationship between sugar and antisocial behaviour is causative.”
They are however offering six primary strategies – avoiding sugar, exercising, addressing emotional stress, eating right, and optimising omega-3 and vitamin D levels, as the lifestyle changes that offer the greatest chance of restoring and maintaining the mental health.
While all omega-3 fats possess immune-boosting qualities, omega-3 fats from marine sources (EPA and DHA) are more biologically potent than omega-3 fat ALA found in plant sources such as flax seeds and are more potent inflammation fighters.
Dr. James S. Gordon, a world-renowned expert in using mind-body medicine to heal depression, uses exercise extensively when treating depression.
“What we’re finding in the research on physical exercise is that physical exercise is at least as good as antidepressants for helping people who are depressed. And that it’s even more important for older people,” Gordon said.
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