Eating Junk Food Will Spoil Your Mood

I like comfort food. You like comfort food. It's great medicine! You feel rotten, so you eat a bunch of rotten food, and you feel better. Magic!

Yeah, I know, it's short-lived, but General Tso's Chicken, or Haagen Dazs ice cream, or an entire sleeve of Oreos, sure helps get the sad out.

But eating all that comfort food, i.e. junk food, might be what's fueling your bad mood; specifically increasing the risk of depression.

Writing in The British Journal of Psychiatry, experts found that consuming a lot of processed food--such as desserts, fried food, refined grains, processed meat, and high-fat dairy--actually raised the likelihood of depression.

Scientists blame all the sugar and fat junk food jams into your body; sugar highs are great, but sugar lows are low, really low.

And, researchers say this association held true even after things like smoking and fitness level were considered.

So scientists suggest, obviously avoiding junk food, eating more fruits and vegetables, cutting salt, and choosing healthy snacks, like whole wheat crackers. Sorry, they don't make whole wheat Oreos.

As a nut job with five years of therapy under his belt, I say stay away from the comfort food trap. Force yourself to eat fruit if you have to, seriously.

Via Rodale.

Written By Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese on Jan 23, 2010

MORE: Food, Psychology, Depression, fat, junk food, sugar

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12 Comments

blob on 01/23/10

Perhaps you should look up the definition of comfort food. Where I come from, it ain't junk food.

Melanie | Dietriffic on 01/23/10

For me comfort food equals potatoes and some kind of hearty stew!

Daisy on 02/ 1/10

Unfortunately, where I come from comfort food is high in fat and calories--mashed potatoes and gravy, fried chicken, choclate cake. Oh, how I miss them!

O. on 01/23/10

I found that managing junk foods place in my life was the way to go.

My life now is a mix of clever fat reducing cooking techniques, as close as possible healthy substitues for the real goodies,and the occasional treat.

By the way, I also have a HUGE sweet tooth. I have found that sugar substitutes give me the same rush that sugar does. Perhaps some scientists should study that.

fatdefender on 01/23/10

reducing fat is the most unclever thing to do: find info about dr. kwasnewski and his high fat diet: fat is what you should eat instead of carbs and protein

linzthefitcoach on 01/23/10

I think it's important to remember one key thing, MODERATION. If you stay to a strict diet all the time you are more likely to have binges because you are denying yourself. I usually allow myself one cheat day per week. I work out 6 days a week (usually 30-40 minutes of cardio) and so I don't feel bad about cheating. Food is the spice of life! Why deny yourself completely? As long as you are eating healthy and exercising throughout the week, you should feel like you are rewarding yourself by having a cheat day. Choosing whole grains, over white bread, dark chocolate over milk, stevia over sugar all helps. Just hints to think about. I wish everyone the best in their weightloss goals! Never give up! =)

Jody - Fit at 52 on 01/23/10

I think many people define comfort food as that emotional eating food... & maybe not only the sugar lows depress them but also that they keep doing this to themselves. Find another way to satisfy yourself with healthy options. Replace the bad habits with good habits. I know it is easier said them done but you have to start somewhere & take it a step at a time.

Spectra on 01/23/10

"Comfort food" to me does not equal junk food; it's food that's hearty and filling, yet isn't loaded with calories. Black bean soup, hot coffee with a little cream and cinnamon, chicken noodle soup, hot herbal tea, etc. are what I eat when I've had a stressful day and just want to relax and get comfortable.

When I was obese, I did eat out of stress or boredom a lot of the time and yes, most of it was not healthy. I remember that if I had a big project due for class, I would fill a huge bowl with Goldfish pretzel crackers and chocolate chips and I would mow through the whole thing over the course of an afternoon.

Stacy on 01/23/10

I have to agree, junk food makes me feel terrible. Sometimes if I actually cave to a craving, I just feel worse because all of that sugar, salt and preservatives clog up my system. I feel so much better when I eat healthy, nutritious foods.

Stacy

Ann-Katrin on 01/25/10

Except comfort food and junk food is not the same, even though some comfort themselves using junk food - here is one hint: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_food
Personally I think the chemicals in the junk food is a bigger problem than the sugar and fat though. Worst products for me at least are all these "light" products...

shannon on 02/ 1/10

anything processed is ALWAYS bad for you-even in moderation!

Roxann Higuera on 02/ 1/10

Actually, the whole grain crackers could be problematic as well. Grain sources of food tend to skew the omega-3/omega-6 balance in the wrong direction, which would contribute to mood problems rather than prevent them. This tends to be the way it goes when I eat whole-grain items.

They mentioned fish as beneficial in the report, but I think there should have been a caveat about that. Grain-fed animal sources tend to have a detrimental omega-3/omega-6 balance. Wild-caught salmon has a beneficial omega-3/omega-6 balance, which is why salmon has been recommended to us for mood and heart benefits. Unfortunately, farm-raised salmon (and tilapia, for that matter) is grain-fed and has an omega-3/omega-6 balance more like grain-fed beef, which is detrimental. Beef need not be detrimental. Grass-fed beef has a beneficial omega-3/omega-6 balance.