Sugar - Not so Sweet for Mental Health

 

Sweet temptations may provide a momentary delight, but beneath the sugar-coated surface lies a bitter truth: sugar can wreak havoc on your mental health.

In a world where sugary treats and beverages often appear innocent and delightful, it's easy to underestimate the profound impact they can have on our well-being. Surprisingly, even modest amounts of sugar can set in motion a series of staggering consequences, contributing to a range of illnesses that are devastating but, for the most part, entirely avoidable. From anxiety and depression to cognitive decline and mood swings, the link between sugar and mental health is more profound than we might imagine.

When you're deciding what to eat, most likely, the last thing on your mind is what the food is doing to your brain. For most people, eating is an 'in-the-moment' thing, as modern life-styles give us less time to think about what we eat. We have less time to plan our meals so the foods we choose are often convenient and expedient, meaning we are more likely to eat ultra-processed foods which are high in sugar. It is now estimated that over 50% of the average Westerner's diet is ultra-processed food. Of course, we know this is why rates of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer are exorbitantly high; lesser known is that this is also contributing to increasingly high rates of mental illness - but how?

It's easy to attribute chronic diseases to poor diet because these are physical illnesses. We tend to see psychological illnesses differently because we associate them with emotions, related things we experience in everyday life. Conventional thinking links mental illnesses, particularly anxiety and depression to stress overload, and treatments focus on building resilience at a cognitive level. More often, what is overlooked is that every thought and emotion is determined by a neurochemical process in your brain. What you eat strongly influences neurochemical processes, and ultimately, how well your brain copes with stress. Eating sugar is seriously bad for neurochemical processes.

The simplist explanation as to why sugar consumption is bad for neurochemical processes is that it leads to brain cell death. Excessive sugar consumption causes the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which leads to chronic inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain, contributing to the deterioration of neurons over time. This damage is associated with cognitive decline and an increased risk of mental illness.

Additionally, sugar can disrupt the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, including dopamine. When you consume a lot of sugar, it can lead to dopamine dysregulation. Initially, this may cause a temporary mood boost, but over time, it can contribute to a "crash" in mood when sugar's effects wear off. This, in turn, can lead to the release of cortisol due to the stress on the body, potentially leading to feelings of irritability, depression, and cravings for more sugar to chase that mood boost. This cycle of sugar dependence can not only affect mental health but also disrupt the body's stress response system.

The truth is, eating sugar can be the same as undergoing severe stress. Needless to say, combining the two can massively increase your risk of developing long-term mental health issues.

In essence, the consumption of sugar can be equated to subjecting your body to severe stress. The combination of sugar and stress significantly amplifies the risk of long-term mental health issues. Therefore, it is imperative that we become mindful of our dietary choices, recognising that what we eat has a profound impact on our mental well-being. By making informed decisions and reducing our sugar intake, we can take a significant step towards safeguarding both our physical and mental health.

Want to learn more about how you can improve your health through positive dietary choices? Go to Nutrition for Health and Wellbeing