Ultra-processed foods make you anxious and depressed

[Celerity]

The more ultra-processed foods from the food industry you consume, the more likely you are to go through life feeling depressed, sad, anxious and worried. That is the conclusion reached by Australian researchers in a meta-analysis published in Nutrients in 2022.

https://www.ergo-log.com/ultra-processed-foods-depression-anxiety.html













Source:

Nutrients. 2022 Jun 21;14(13):2568.

More:

Fast food makes your life less pleasurable 08.05.2015

Archives:

Psychology

Depression

Junk Food

[hlthe2b]

1. Restricting sugar along with ultra-processed food can make a world of difference even after a few weeks.

Note, though that not all processed foods or even ultra-processed foods are equally bad. It depends on the ingredients and additives--the closer to raw, lightly cooked, or frozen the food with minimal preservatives the better. Thus that frozen pizza with cauliflower crust, chicken and spinach and real mozzarella cheese might actually be reasonably healthy, even while significantly processed.

[Ritabert]

2. I try to avoid ultra-processed food

No junk food, no high fructose corn syrup, no soda, etc. I also feel pretty good politics notwithstanding.

[mwmisses4289]

3. ok, so this was a study of other studies

that came to the same conclusion many of these other studies had already come to? Am I interpreting this n the right direction?

[Celerity]

4. Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/13/2568



Abstract

Since previous meta-analyses, which were limited only to depression and by a small number of studies available for inclusion at the time of publication, several additional studies have been published assessing the link between ultra-processed food consumption and depression as well as other mental disorders. We aimed to build on previously conducted reviews to synthesise and meta-analyse the contemporary evidence base and clarify the associations between the consumption of ultra-processed food and mental disorders. A total of 17 observational studies were included (n = 385,541); 15 cross-sectional and 2 prospective. Greater ultra-processed food consumption was cross-sectionally associated with increased odds of depressive and anxiety symptoms, both when these outcomes were assessed together (common mental disorder symptoms odds ratio: 1.53, 95%CI 1.43 to 1.63) as well as separately (depressive symptoms odds ratio: 1.44, 95%CI 1.14 to 1.82; and, anxiety symptoms odds ratio: 1.48, 95%CI 1.37 to 1.59). Furthermore, a meta-analysis of prospective studies demonstrated that greater ultra-processed food intake was associated with increased risk of subsequent depression (hazard ratio: 1.22, 95%CI 1.16 to 1.28). While we found evidence for associations between ultra-processed food consumption and adverse mental health, further rigorously designed prospective and experimental studies are needed to better understand causal pathways.

Keywords: major depressive disorder; anxiety; mental disorders; ultra-processed food; NOVA; meta-analysis; nutritional psychiatry; psychiatry

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Their "About Us" Page Sets Off Alarms Fof Me

It claims to have no agenda while being written in a way that seems like an agenda.
In the study itself, I didn't see much discussion of ancillary, exacerbating or confounding factors.
Finally, the definition of "ultra processed foods" seems too broad for me to accept such a study at face value.

[Celerity]

6. It is a peer-reviewed, published study, with the link provided, but thank you for your feedback

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients

Nutrients



Nutrients is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal of human nutrition published semimonthly online by MDPI. The Asia Pacific Nutrigenomics Nutrigenetics Organisation (APNNO), Italian Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP), Nutrition Society of New Zealand (NSNZ), Ocular Wellness & Nutrition Society (OWNS) and others are affiliated with Nutrients and their members receive a discount on article processing charges.

Open Access— free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions.

High Visibility: indexed within Scopus, SCIE (Web of Science), PubMed, MEDLINE, PMC, Embase, PubAg, AGRIS, and other databases.

Journal Rank: JCR - Q1 (Nutrition and Dietetics) / CiteScore - Q1 (Food Science)

Rapid Publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision is provided to authors approximately 13.5 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 2.6 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the second half of 2024).

Recognition of Reviewers: reviewers who provide timely, thorough peer-review reports receive vouchers entitling them to a discount on the APC of their next publication in any MDPI journal, in appreciation of the work done.

Companion journal: Dietetics

Impact Factor: 4.8 (2023); 5-Year Impact Factor: 5.8 (2023)

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Sorry

That does not change my opinion or assuage any concerns I have.
I'm not sure how a study passed peer review without eliminating confounding factors.

[OldBaldy1701E]

8. Why else do you think real food is so much more expensive?

https://i.postimg.cc/Fsx3Xrk5/temp-Imageu-Od-LW8.avif

[Celerity]

10. pic (to make it display on DU you change .avif to .jpg)

[LudwigPastorius]

9. "When people are not mentally well, their diet deteriorates."

Bingo.

This may be evidence of an association, but it's not causal proof.