2024-03-23 05:03:25
Fast food is bad for your health, so far so good. But studies show that poor nutrition also has an impact on the psyche and can lead to depression and Alzheimer’s.
Word has now gotten around that long-term consumption of hamburgers, fries and currywurst is not good for your health and can lead to obesity and, as a result, hypertension and type 2 diabetes. But how much regular consumption of fast food can damage the brain is still often overlooked. There have long been a number of studies that point to the connection between poor nutrition and psychological and neurological sequelae.
But what exactly does junk food actually mean, what consequences and effects can it have on the psyche, and what role do depression and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s play in this?
What is meant by fast food?
Fast food or junk food comes from America and, according to widespread opinion, represents particularly unhealthy food. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is more precise on its website: “Fast food is usually the name given to dishes that are suitable for quick consumption and that usually have a high degree of processing, a high energy density and a low content of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals.”
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Above all, fast food products are characterized by a lack of important nutrients, which can only be compensated for by a healthy, vitamin-rich and nutrient-rich diet. If it is not present as part of a balanced diet in the long term, the nutritional deficiency can lead to serious illnesses that not only affect the body, but also the psyche.
Poor nutrition damages the brain: burgers, frozen pizza, etc. are full of additives
According to the RKI, fast food primarily includes hamburgers, doner kebabs, curry sausages, bratwursts, French fries and pizza. Meals that do not rely on fresh ingredients, but consist primarily of finished products, which in turn contain significant amounts of additives and flavor enhancers.
According to the German Food Association, food manufacturers use substitutes and additives in the production of fast food products in order, among other things, to reduce production costs and guarantee the shelf life of the products. However, a study by Princeton University has shown that surrogates in particular significantly increase the taste and thus the addictive potential of fast food due to their chemical concentration.
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Poor nutrition worsens psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression
The far-reaching consequences of malnutrition for the psyche and well-being have now been scientifically proven. According to a study cited by the Federal Center for Nutrition on its website, a poor diet can cause a vitamin B12 deficiency, which in turn leads to fatigue, memory problems and severe depression.
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“We found that there is increasing evidence of a link between poor diet and the worsening of mental disorders such as anxiety and depression,” explains study lead author Suzanne Dickson of Gothenburg University in Sweden. Other studies have shown that junk food not only impairs acute psychological well-being, but can also cause serious neurological problems.
Nutrition study with rats: Junk food can promote Alzheimer’s disease
In a study at Ohio State University, rats of different ages were fed foods similar to fast food, i.e. highly processed foods, over a period of four weeks. According to the results of the study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity can be read, the researchers found that consumption of these foods leads to an inflammatory reaction in the brain, especially in aging rats, and is associated with signs of impending memory loss.
“These results suggest that consumption of processed foods can lead to significant and sudden memory loss. In aging populations, there is a greater likelihood that such memory loss will lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s,” said study author Ruth Barrientos of Ohio State University Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research in a press release.
A long-term study by the University of Sao Paulo with people as test participants also came to the conclusion that the continuous consumption of highly processed foods leads to a decline in cognitive performance and promotes memory gaps or inhibited knowledge processing among the participants.
Mediterranean diet can protect against anxiety and depression
In contrast to burgers, fries and frozen pizza, Mediterranean cuisine, which consists of lots of vegetables, fruit and olive oil, has a reputation for offering a balanced diet.
The positive effect of fruit and vegetable consumption is probably due to valuable ingredients, as scientists wrote in the journal BMC Psychiatry explain. Minerals that are rarely found in fast food products, such as magnesium, zinc, selenium and vitamins, reduce the concentration of the so-called C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood plasma. High levels of protein are associated with inflammation and depression. Vitamin C, vitamin E and folic acid also reduced the effect of oxidative stress, as the Federal Center for Nutrition writes.
The important omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish and also in valuable oils, are also loud BMC Psychiatry to an increased release of the messenger substances serotonin and dopamine and thus to a balanced psyche.
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