Sugar and Mental Health – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 429
mental health
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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We all know that sugar is something we should really try to avoid at all costs when it comes to our dietary intake. But when we look at the mental health implications that go along with high sugar intake, this is when it becomes incredibly alarming. Today, I want to talk about the true impact that sugars have when it comes to our mental health.†
The relationship between sugar and health
When we look at our society as a whole, we know that Americans intake way too much sugar. The average American adult consumes roughly around 75 to 80 grams of sugar per day, which is three times the recommended amount. These sugars come from sugary beverages and high-processed foods.†
Then we look at all of the health implications that go along with sugar consumption, beyond that of just diabetes. That’s the first thing that most people think about, but we also have to think about the mental health implications.†
There was data collected in the UK where researchers followed over 10,000 men and women for 30 years, between the years of 1983 and 2013. The researchers were looking at their dietary intake of processed sugars and trying to see if there was any type of increased risk for developing a mental health disorder such as anxiety and depression. The reason why it is so critical to draw this correlation is because over 40 million adults in the United States suffer from mental health conditions.†
These findings are also extremely alarming as researchers have predicted that by the year 2030, major depression will be the leading cause of disability in economically privileged countries.†
Stopping the effects of sugar on mental health
There is a very simple fix to help stop the impacts of sugar on mental health status. We stop with the sugary beverages and the processed foods. We start eating whole foods again and start to consume things like water or green tea, as opposed to sugar water, which is not only harmful to our mental health, but also to our energy status and overall well-being.†
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Anxiety disorder itself is highly treatable. Unfortunately, many people who have it are given anxiolytic drugs, but they are never given the advice that they should change their diet. Perhaps it’s their diet that’s driving so much of this by basically disrupting the normal communication pathways within the brain, which is incredibly problematic.†
In this episode, Amanda Williams, MPH discusses how the high-sugar foods we eat so frequently can impact mental health. She details several studies on this topic and provides explanations of how sugar works within the body.†
Key Topics:
- How much sugar should you be taking in a day
- Research on sugar and mental health
- How sugar works within the body
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