New study: french fries and depression

Many people love french fries, but it turned out that this passion can lead to … depression.

It can have the most negative effects on mental health, writes CNni, talking about the results of a study by a group of scientists from Hangzhou, China. They found that frequent consumption of fried foods, especially french fries, increases the risk of anxiety by 12% and the risk of depression by 7%., compared with people who do not prefer fried foods. The risk is highest among young consumers.

Fried foods are known to be a risk factor for obesity, high blood pressure, and other health problems. In the study, published in the journal PNAS, the results “pave the way for reducing fried food consumption in favor of mental health.”

However, experts studying nutrition note that the results are temporary, and it is not yet clear whether fried foods cause mental health problems or people who are depressed or anxious turn to fried foods for comfort. Another study is also interesting – that the consumption of highly processed foods increases the risk of not only developing cancer, especially ovarian cancer, but also mortality.

In the course of a large-scale study of this factor, which lasted more than 11 years, 140,728 people were “under the microscope”. After excluding participants diagnosed with depression, 8,294 cases of anxiety and 12,735 cases of depression were reported in the first two years in those who ate fried food with french fries, which increases the risk of depression by 2% compared to fried white meat.

A new study found that acrylamide is responsible for the increased risk of anxiety and depression*, which is a chemical produced during the frying process, especially in french fries. Participants who regularly consumed more than one serving of fried foods were more likely to be young males. Lifestyle medicine specialist Dr. David Katz, founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, who was not involved in the study, said:

“The human component of this study may indicate exactly what it is aiming for: higher consumption of fried foods increases the risk of anxiety and depression. However, causation could just as easily follow the other way: people with anxiety/depression are increasingly turning to “comfort food” for some semblance of relief.”

Junk food and poor nutrition can worsen mood and aggravate mental health conditions. Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, notes that “the health effects of fried foods depend on what foods are fried and what type of fat is used for frying:

“Potatoes are the culprit because they cause a spike in sugar by affecting hormones, but in most cases, fat is the culprit.”

*Acrylamide – a chemical compound that is formed naturally in starchy foods when they are cooked at high temperatures – including frying, baking, baking and industrial processing – at +120 ° C and low humidity.

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