People binge on high sugar food to subside negative feelings
Love your dose of cakes, brownies and muffins? Think it is the best way to alleviate negative feelings? Think again. According to a latest British based study, men who consume more than 67grams of sugar or two cans of cola daily to subside their bitterness, resentment or sad feelings could be at an increased risk of depression and anxiety.
For the study the team compared sugar consumption with rates of common mental disorders in more than 5,000 men and 2,000 women between 1983 and 2013. In the follow up the participants were slotted in three groups according to their daily sugar intake.
The findings appeared in the journal Scientific Reports, revealed that after five years, that men in the top group consumed more than 67g of sugar per day and were 23 percent more likely to develop mental disorders like depression and anxiety as compared to those in the other groups. The bottom-most group of men were found to consume less than 39.5g of sugar.
Lead researchers from the University College London's Institute of Epidemiology and Health noted that high sugar diets have been linked to variety of health disorders in the past but it may also have an association with mood swings and mental disorders particularly among men. The results also revealed that British adults consume roughly double recommended levels of added sugar, about three quarters of which comes from sweet foods and drinks.
It is only ironical that the high intake of sweet food and drinks is more likely to have a contrary effect on mental health in the long-term, the scientists noted stating the importance of the study which attempts to show emotional eating consequences in men.