Can Junk Food Give You the Blues?

This is one question researchers set out to answer in a recent study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Many studies have focused on different nutrients as playing a role in mental health, but this group wanted to look at diet patterns as a whole to determine what big things in your diet might be affecting your mood.

The research team, from the University College of London and lead by Dr. Tasnime Akbaraly, used data from a large study called the Whitehall II study, which monitored many social, lifestyle, work and health factors in a group of over 10,000 British civil servants. Dr. Akbaraly’s team focused on evaluating whether what people ate affected their chance of becoming depressed, using a approximately 3,500 people.

The researchers used a food questionnaire to lump dietary patterns into two major groups: a whole foods group (heavily loaded with fruits, vegetables and fish) and a processed food group (heavily loaded with sweets, fried foods, high-fat dairy, processed grains and processed meats). What they found was that those who ate more of the whole foods or less of the process foods were less likely to become depressed.

To test the validity of their findings, they used statistical tools to remove the affects of several of other things that might contribute to depression, including: age, gender, marital status, physical activity, smoking, education level, employment grade, and a host of other medical conditions. After adjusting for all of these, the findings still stood. More people who developed depression had a diet high in processed foods and low in whole foods than people who didn’t become depressed.

These data are interesting because no other studies had really evaluated a ‘pro-depressive’ effect of processed foods. Many studies have shown benefit of individual nutrients, like omega-3s and B vitamins in being protective against depression, but not evaluated diet patterns as a whole or showed that processed foods might increase the odds of depression.

For many people it’s kind of a no-brainer that the foods you eat can affect the way you feel. However, more studies like this one are needed to really make the link between different aspects of the diet and the risk of real depressive disorders, not just blue moods. The more we understand all the factors involved in contributing to depression and related disorders, the more we can do to effectively treat it.

Currently, psychiatrists, nurses and social workers all work together to help people deal with mental illnesses from different angles. Data is emerging, like this study, that suggests if we added nutritionists and exercise professionals into the mix, we could do an even better job.

Studies like this are the only way we can really solidify the science behind a broad treatment approach; and without the data insurance won’t cover it, and without insurance coverage the system won’t change. But do we need to wait for the system to change in order to live better today? No. Eat Well. Your brain will thank you.

How to Kick the Junk Food Habit and Eat Healthy

The good news is that the research shows that the less junk food you eat, the less you crave it. My own experiences have mirrored this. As I’ve slowly begun to eat healthier, I’ve noticed myself wanting pizza and candy and ice cream less and less. Some people refer to this transition period as “gene reprogramming.”

Whatever you want to call it, the lesson is the same: if you can find ways to gradually eat healthier, you’ll start to experience the cravings of junk food less and less. I’ve never claimed to have all the answers (or any, really), but here are three strategies that might help.

1. Use the “outer ring” strategy and the “5 ingredient rule” to buy healthier food.

The best course of action is to avoid buying processed and packaged foods. If you don’t own it, you can’t eat it. Furthermore, if you don’t think about it, you can’t be lured by it.

We’ve talked about the power of junk food to pull you in and how memories of tasty food in the past can cause you to crave more of it in the future. Obviously, you can’t prevent yourself from ever thinking about junk food, but there are ways to reduce your cravings.

First, you can use my “outer ring” strategy to avoid processed and packaged foods at the grocery store. If you limit yourself to purchasing foods that are on the outer ring of the store, then you will generally buy whole foods (fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, etc.). Not everything on the outer ring is healthy, but you will avoid a lot of unhealthy foods.

You can also follow the “5 ingredient rule” when buying foods at the store. If something has more than 5 ingredients in it, don’t buy it. Odds are, it has been designed to fool you into eating more of it. Avoid those products and stick with the more natural options.

2. Eat a variety of foods.

As we covered earlier, the brain craves novelty.

While you may not be able to replicate the crunchy/creamy contrast of an Oreo, you can vary your diet enough to keep things interesting. For example, you could dip a carrot (crunchy) in some hummus (creamy) and get a novel sensation. Similarly, finding ways to add new spices and flavors to your dishes can make eating healthy foods a more desirable experience.

Moral of the story: eating healthy doesn’t have to be bland. Mix up your foods to get different sensations and you may find it easier than eating the same foods over and over again. (At some point, however, you may have to fall in love with boredom.)

3. Find a better way to deal with your stress.

There’s a reason why many people eat as a way to cope with stress. Stress causes certain regions of the brain to release chemicals (specifically, opiates and neuropeptide Y). These chemicals can trigger mechanisms that are similar to the cravings you get from fat and sugar. In other words, when you get stressed, your brain feels the addictive call of fat and sugar and you’re pulled back to junk food.

We all have stressful situations that arise in our lives. Learning to deal with stress in a different way can help you overcome the addictive pull of junk food. This could include simple breathing techniques or a short guided meditation. Or something more physical like exercise or making art.