There is an old saying: “You are what you eat” – and there is a lot of truth in that saying when it comes to mental health. In my ongoing, and seemingly never-ending, efforts to keep on top of anxiety-related research, yesterday I attended a short course on the impact of food on the brain.
One of the topics we covered was the impact of ultra-processed foods on anxiety and depression. There is a growing body of research that a diet high in ultra processed foods increases the chances of someone developing anxiety and depression.
What Are Ultra Processed Foods?
Go to your kitchen and look at the ingredients list on some of the foods you typically buy. You may find words like “antioxidants”, “food colouring”, “emulsifier”, “preservative” or “sweetener”. These are indications that the foods are ultra-processed. Put simply, if you find ingredients in a product that you could not buy yourself, it is likely to be ultra-processed.
Ultra processing food is what food manufacturers do to make the food look better, taste better or last longer on the supermarket shelves.
What is the Impact of Eating Ultra Processed Foods?
There is growing evidence that a diet high in ultra processed foods is linked to a wide variety of poor health outcomes. We might expect someone who eats a lot of takeaway pizza, burgers and fries to become overweight and have heart disease or diabetes. What is less commonly recognised is that such a diet could impact people’s mental health – in particular, depression.
Depression and anxiety go hand in hand. Most studies have focused on the impact of ultra processed foods on depression, but there are some that also link them with anxiety.
What Should We Do?
No one is saying that we should completely stop eating ultra processed foods. However, we should be aware of the impact on our mental health, and maybe consider cutting down on amount of ultra processed foods in our diet.
This is a difficult ask in this busy modern-day world. Taking time to identify what we eat and cooking more foods from scratch is not easy. However, if you do suffer from anxiety or depression, it may be worth considering.
And Finally …
I am not a nutritionist. I cannot give medical advice on your nutritional needs. All I can do is point you in the direction of some up-to-date research that I am aware of.
However, I do help people with anxiety and depression. I use hypnotherapy to help them get their lives back together again. I work out of my clinic in Fleet, Hampshire as well as online. So if you want to Contact Me, I am very happy to talk to you about your anxiety issues.
References
Consistent evidence links ultra-processed food to over 30 damaging health outcomes
https://bmjgroup.com/consistent-evidence-links-ultra-processed-food-to-over-30-damaging-health-outcomes/
What consumers need to know about ultra-processed foods
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/ultra-processed-foods
Do ultra-processed foods impact mental health?
https://zoe.com/learn/ultra-processed-foods-mental-health
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Holly Stone Hypnotherapy for the inspiring course on the impact of food on the brain.
Photo courtesy of Athena Sandrini on Pexels