Beverage companies spend millions of dollars to draw the eyeballs towards their sweetened drinks. They do succeed in expanding their share of profit. But, this is done at the cost of risking the mental health of the people who consume these drinks on a regular basis. If a report presented in March 2013 at the 65th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego is to be believed, researchers have found that intake of these drinks is linked to depression.
Can Sweetened Drinks Cause Depression
- The study comprised of 264,000 people over the age of 50 who were asked about their drinking habits of sweetened beverages.
- The participants were questioned after 10 years on whether they have diagnosed with the signs of depression in the previous decade.
- The study found that drinking four cans of diet soda or more on a daily basis enhanced the risk of developing depression by nearly 30 per cent.
- This statistic was in comparison to people who did not take any sweetened drinks during the study period.
- Regular intake of sweetened soda increased the risk of depression by 22 per cent in the participants.
- The researchers also found that intake of coffee on a regular basis reduced the risk of depression by 10 per cent.
Depression Risk by Beverage Type
| Beverage Type | Risk of Depression Increase |
|---|---|
| Diet Soda (4 cans or more daily) | 30% |
| Regular Sweetened Soda | 22% |
| Coffee | -10% (decreased risk) |
- Unfortunately, experts are not sure of whether the mentioned outcomes of this study are consistent or not.
- The underlying mechanism between the increased urge to drink these sweetened beverages and state of depression is not understood yet.
- Artificially sweetened beverages are increasingly found in many studies to be associated with undesirable effects on the body.
- It is a known fact that people with depression prefer to drink sweetened liquids in order to feel good or contended from within.
- Such unhealthy habit increases the weight of the body, risk of type 2 diabetes and worsen the state of depression.
Health Impacts of Sweetened Beverage Consumption
| Health Condition | Associated Risk with Sweetened Beverage Intake |
|---|---|
| Depression | Increased risk by 22-30% |
| Weight Gain | Higher likelihood due to added sugar |
| Type 2 Diabetes | Increased risk with regular consumption |
- While there are natural and healthy ways of releasing the feel-good hormone dopamine in our body, people with depression choose unhealthy ways of being contended.
- These habits are eating fast foods, ice creams, chocolates and sugared drinks in excess to satiate the taste buds.
- In this way, while depression is closely linked to the unhealthy intake of sweetened drinks, the contrary appears to be true as well.
- Experts advise the general public to increase the intake of plain water and beat the urge of drinking these sweetened liquids with diet soda or lemon water.
- To be more precise, it is necessary that we do not consume drinks that are more than 5 calories.
- Coffee should contain no more than 2 per cent of milk and add of any sugar should be resisted.
- Though juices proved vital nutrients to the body, their excess intake is not recommended.
- It is in the interest of one’s health to dilute the juice with water and add naturally sweet substances like honey instead of plain sugar.
- Awareness on the percentage of sugar in drinks proves handy in staying away from them.
References:
webmd.com
nlm.nih.gov
