2023-06-20 12:36:00
The study carried out by the French epidemiologist Tasnime Akbaraly, from Inserm (French Medical Research Institute), showed that the consumption of ultra-processed foods can increase the risk of developing depression. More than 280 million people suffer from the disease in the world, according to WHO estimates (World Health Organization).
Taíssa Stivanin, da RFI
The association between ultra-processed foods and the development of depression is still recent, according to the French epidemiologist, who has been analyzing the relationship between mental health and food for over ten years.
But the finding that the products represent a risk factor for the disease should be enough to guide public prevention policies, he warns.
“There are risk factors for depression, such as genetics, which are already well established and documented in the scientific literature. But, in my study, the important thing was to focus on what can be controlled, such as the way of life. This is the case. of food “, explains the researcher. ′′ When we are depressed, we also change our eating behavior.”
According to the Ministry of Health, ultra-processed products are formulations made from substances extracted from or derived from food, synthesized in the laboratory. Additives, flavor enhancers or flavorings are part of this group.
The substances present in ultra-processed foods can favor the so-called “oxidative stress”, which is the body’s difficulty in eliminating what is harmful and fighting inflammation.
This mechanism may be associated with depression. The disease is generated by failures in the transmission of information from one neuron to another in the brain, made by nerve impulses, during the synapse (points of contact between two neurons).
This dysfunction affects the production and capture of three neurotransmitters involved in the onset of the disease: serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine.
The malfunction of this brain mechanism can disrupt the regulation of emotions, cognitive control and the construction of self-image, which characterize depression.
French epidemiologist Tasnime Akbaraly © Disclosure
Data analysis
In her research, Tasnime Akbaraly used a British public health database, available to scientists around the world, known as Whitehall II. Participants are British civil servants, aged between 35 and 55, recruited between 1985 and 1988.
The 4,554 patients have been monitored by a medical team since the early 1990s. Since then, they have answered questionnaires that include various aspects of their lives, such as eating habits and daily consumption of ultra-processed products.
The participants’ depressive symptoms, their eventual relapses and the need to use medication to treat the disease were also evaluated by the medical team that accompanies them.
When accessing the database, the French epidemiologist crossed the thousands of data available to find out if there was a relationship between participants who had depression and the consumption of ultra-processed foods.
After the analysis, she found that patients who declared a depressive episode consumed less vegetables and fruits and more products with high levels of saturated fat. “Our hypothesis is that these foods could increase oxidative stress.”
Many questions, he emphasizes, remain unanswered and could not be analyzed in the research, but are the subject of several studies. Among them, the impact of additives and packaging, for example, which can be toxic and contaminate food.
Several studies have also shown that ultra-processed foods modify the intestinal microbiota and influence what scientists call genome expression.
Therefore, they can trigger diseases in case of genetic predisposition, such as diabetes, for example, or cardiovascular or autoimmune pathologies.
Harmful like cigarettes
The French epidemiologist also serves as undersecretary for the municipality of Montpellier, in the south of France, and is in charge of projects for early childhood. She fights for ultra-processed foods to be considered as dangerous as cigarettes.
“Eating habits, when well acquired in childhood, will be the same in adulthood. It is extremely important to target this public in terms of prevention and public health”, he warns.
According to her, despite the evidence on the risk of consuming these products, the adoption of concrete measures takes time. Ultra-processed foods, she says, should be regulated similarly to cigarettes.
“We know the impact of ultra-processed foods, full of sugar and fat, on the body. Even so, they are available from distributors installed even in hospitals!”, he comments with indignation.
“Everyone would be shocked if we put cigarette packs in these dispensers, but nobody is bothered when we put chocolate bars, even knowing that poor diet is the main cause of death worldwide”, he concludes.
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