Sugar not only affects your weight, but also mental health

Eating too much sugar is not good for your oral health and your weight is a very common fact.

However, a study conducted on July 27 revealed that sugar may also negatively affect your mental health, thus attracting some skepticism from experts.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) compared the amount of sugar consumed by more than 8,000 people in a long-term study in the UK, with their mood.

Sugar not only affects your weight, but also mental health Picture 1

The study participants were civil servants, followed from 1985-1988, and then they filled out a questionnaire.

The researchers examined data from a study involving sugar and "common psychosis" (CMD) such as anxiety and depression.

It has been found that men who eat a lot of sweet foods and drinks are more likely to develop CMD after five years, and also have adverse general effects on mental health for both genders.

The study was published in Scientific Reports, concluding that "low sugar levels may be associated with better psychological health."

However, Catherine Collins, a nutritionist and spokesman for the British Nutrition Association, said the recommendation was "unproven".

Collins also said that it seems to be confused between natural food sugar such as milk, and "free sugar" added to hot drinks or in sweets.

Collins said: "Diet analysis cannot justify the bold claims of sugar and depression researchers in men," Collins said through Science Media Center in London.

"Reducing sugar is good for your teeth, and may be good for your weight. But to help your body fight depression? It's unproven."

Tom Sanders, nutritionist, agrees with Collins and thinks that this result should be interpreted as "cautious".

"From a scientific perspective, it's hard to see how sugar in food will be different from other carbohydrate sources that affect mental health because they both break down into simple sugars in the intestine," he said. when absorbed.