2023-06-27 08:00:59
According to a study conducted in France in 2021, 69% of food products available on supermarket shelves are ultra-processed foods. For years, these foods have been singled out for their harmful effects on health, in particular their link with metabolic diseases and cancers. But they could also harm mental health, as a recent study suggests. Explanations.
Ultra-processed foods singled out for their impact on health
THE ultra-processed foods include a wide range of food products, such as pastry and bakery products, ready meals, breaded foods, cured meats, desserts and frozen desserts, etc. Their preparation involves the use of transformation processes that alter the nutritional properties of food, but also the addition of food additives, for example to improve the texture or enhance the taste. These foods are also very often high in saturated fat and/or simple sugars.
Multiple studies have looked at the effects of these ultra-processed foods on the health of consumers. Scientific evidence has demonstrated the role of these foods in the development of metabolic diseasessuch as obesity, lipid disorders or type 2 diabetes, or in the development of certain cancers. But the harmful effects of these foods would not stop there, they could also harm the Mental Health.
Read also – Fewer ultra-processed foods on the plate, less cancer?
Negative effects on physical and mental health
A team of French researchers recently established a link between high consumption of ultra-processed foods and the risk of recurrence of depressive disorders. This team had already demonstrated that a diet high in saturated fat and low in fruits and vegetables was associated with an increased risk of depression. This time, their work focused on ultra-processed foods. The study involved 4,554 British civil servants (74% of them men), aged 35 to 55, included in the study between 1985 and 1988. Between 2002 and 2016, their relationship to depression was assessed at four times, through the occurrence of depressive disorders or the use of antidepressant drugs.
At the same time, their consumption of ultra-processed foods was assessed using self-administered dietary questionnaires between 1991 and 2004. The researchers defined five levels of ultra-processed food consumption depending on the share that these foods represent in the daily nutritional intake. High consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with increased risk of recurrence of depressive signs over the 13 years of follow-up. Other work had also suggested a possible link between the consumption of these foods and the risk of developing dementia.
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Understand how ultra-processed foods harm mental health
When participants consumed more than a third of ultra-processed foods in their daily food intake, they had a 30% increased risk of having several successive depressive episodes, compared to participants consuming less than 20% ultra-processed foods. This link between ultra-processed foods and depression was independent of other factors, such as sociodemographic factors, lifestyle or health status.
Such data leads us to think about the mechanisms explaining the link between ultra-processed foods and mental health. Additional studies would be interesting to decipher which components of these foods or which transformation processes contribute to the recurrence of depressive signs and how. Meanwhile, this study demonstrates the harmfulness of ultra-processed foods and encourages us to reduce their share in our daily diet as much as possible. Reducing or even eliminating ultra-processed foods is essential to protect our physical and mental health!
Read also – Dementia: ultra-processed foods in question!
Estelle B., Doctor of Pharmacy
Sources
– Ultra-processed foods: their overconsumption seems to be associated with mental health problems. www.inserm.fr. Accessed June 12, 2023.
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