From the satisfaction of popping a bottle of soda to indulging in finger-licking good Kentucky Fried Chicken, food has a direct impact on our emotions. Virginia Woolf once said, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” This reminds us that what we eat affects our mental health. So, what are you feeding yourself today? Do you have a poor diet?
According to the World Heart Federation, a poor diet consists of highly processed or ultra-processed foods, high-sugar drinks, and a high intake of these two. McManus (2020) explains, highly processed foods have added ingredients such as sugar, salt, fats, and artificial colours or preservatives, while ultra-processed foods are made mostly from substances extracted from foods such as fats, starches, added sugars, and hydrogenated fats. They may also contain additives like artificial colours and flavours or stabilizers. Examples include soft drinks, fast food, frozen meals, and salty snacks. High-sugar drinks on the other hand refer to beverages that contain added sugars or sweeteners. The additional sugar in these drinks adds calories, but little or no nutrients. It is strongly recommended that the intake of free sugars be less than 10% of total energy intake (World Heart Organization, 2015, p. 4) as there is “increasing concern that intake of free sugars – particularly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages – increases overall energy intake and may reduce the intake of foods containing more nutritionally adequate calories, leading to an unhealthy diet…” (World Heart Organization, 2015, p. 1).
Having an unhealthy diet has been a common ground for many people – especially people with depression. Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects people’s emotions, way of thinking and behaviour. (Torres, 2020) Studies have found a correlation between a poor diet and its effects on mental health. In 2019, a meta-analysis of ten previously published observational studies including 37,131 people with depression concluded that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages put people at a higher risk for depression. From consuming just over a 12-ounce can of soda a day, they increased their risk by 5 percent. But if they drank two and a half cans of soda a day, their risk jumped to 25 percent. (Naidoo, 2020, p. 70) Higher intakes of simple sugars and saturated fats have also been associated with lower cognitive function. In other words, having a poor diet that has low nutritional value could worsen your mental health.
Historically, nutrition has been overlooked as a contributor to poor mental health, but there is an increasing focus on this relationship, due to the brain’s need for key nutrients to maintain optimal function. Having a poor diet means your body is lacking these key nutrients, which affects hormone production in the brain. This includes “happy hormones” like dopamine which are responsible for our mood. Research shows that low levels of dopamine are linked to depression. (Brown & Gershon, 1993)
While having a poor diet result in the worsening of your mental health, it is not the only risk factor. Risk factors such as genetic predisposition, discrimination, and stressful life events, also contribute to poor mental health. Hence, the prevalence of depression and its relationship to diet intake needs to be further examined.
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