Sugar could affect the mental health of men

If you consume large amounts of sugar, you should know what a new study says. The excess in the amounts of sugar consumed by a human being will not only cause poor dental health or overweight, it can also increase the risk of suffering from mental health disorders.

The scientists who developed the study found that all men who consumed more than 67 grams of sugar per day in all foods were much more likely to develop anxiety, depression and other common mental disorders after 5 years. In addition, patients who consumed lower amounts of sugar each day and did not show symptoms of mental illness were observed.

This study was carried out by a team of specialists from the Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health of the University College London in the United Kingdom, which were led by Anika Knüppel.

According to the opinions expressed by nutrition specialists, our daily sugar intake should not exceed 10 percent of total daily calories for adults and children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, adults over the age of 20 consumed about 13 percent of their total daily calories from sugar between 2005 and 2010, and most of the added sugars came from sugary drinks, cakes and cookies, candy and ice cream.

Doctors around the world have highlighted the dangers of consuming high levels of sugar a long time ago. the scientific studies carried out have shown the risks of consuming sugar; For example, refined sugar could increase the risk of multiple health problems, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay.

In fact, previous studies have shown the link between the consumption of sugar in large quantities and the increased risk of depression, although the team of researchers have also suggested that there could be a "reverse causality".

"Inverse causality refers, in this context, to the possibility that the state of mind may lead a person older than sugar, so that mental health association total or partial result of poor mental health in place of high sugar intake, "added the head of the team of scientists who prepared the study.

For this latest research, the team may have a better understanding of sugar consumption that will influence the development of mental health disorders.

High consumption of sugar and mental health

Knüppel and his colleagues analyzed data from previous studies, which used 10,308 participants; in which 66.9 percent of them were men, whose ages were between 35 and 55 years during the first phase of the study.

For 22 years, each participant in the study was followed up, who completed food frequency questionnaires at four time points. In this way, the scientists used the information from these questionnaires to calculate the amount of daily sugar consumed by each of these participants.

The patients who participated in the study completed general health questionnaires and interviews on numerous occasions, which were carried out by the researchers. All this information obtained allowed the team of scientists to identify the development of common mental disorders of the participants, such as anxiety and depression.

The data obtained were compared to men who had the lowest daily intake of sugar (less than 39.5 grams daily), men who had the highest daily intake of sugar (more than 67 grams daily) had a 23 percent higher odds of developing common mental disorders 5 years later.

This finding was maintained after taking into account a series of possible confounding factors, including sociodemographic factors, other dietary factors and the presence of other health problems.

Reverse causality does not explain the findings

In addition, the researchers obtained data that allowed them to conclude that all those people who suffered from some type of mental illness that directly affected the state of mind could be aggravated if the daily consumption of sugar was excessive, even they were more likely to develop depression after 5 years, compared to those patients who participated in the research who had a lower sugar intake.

However, this association decreased once the sociodemographic factors and other dietary and health factors were considered.

In addition, the team of scientists also found that the consumption of sugar among patients with mental health disorders was not higher than that of those patients without mental health disorders. This affects the theory that the link between high sugar consumption and the increased risk of mental health disorders is due to reverse causality.

Based on their findings, Knüppel and his team have recommended that people reduce the daily dose of sugar so as not to affect our mood or increase the risk factors for suffering a mental disorder throughout our lives.

"Sweet food has been found to induce positive feelings in the short term, and people who have a low mood can eat sugary foods in the hope of relieving negative feelings." Our study suggests that a high intake of sugary foods is more likely to have opposite effect in long-term mental health ". The head of the study, Anika Knüppel, said during a conference.