Sometimes, we feel happy when we eat even a spoonful of dessert, or there are times when we eat dessert to feel happy. However, experts point out that excess sugar consumption not only negatively affects physical health but also mental health. Yeşim Nurdan Özkorucuklu, a Specialist Dietitian, states that sugar consumed in excess triggers feelings of happiness, anxiety, sadness and anger for a second.
Consuming Too Much Sugar Causes Depression
Excessive sugar consumption can bring many health problems. How does sugar consumption affect our mental health? Yeşim Nurdan Özkorucuklu, a Specialist Dietitian from Moodist Hospital, says that the symptoms that occur due to intense sugar use are equivalent to drug addiction. Specialist Dietitian Özkorucuklu continues: “Depending on sugar intake, ups and downs occur in the level of dopamine in the brain. This leads first to abstinence and then to continued sugar intake. These changes in brain neurochemistry caused by sugar intake are similar to those caused by drug use.“
“It causes depression.”
Stating that research causes inflammation in the brain due to high sugar consumption, Specialist Dietitian Yeşim Nurdan Özkorucuklu underlines that this leads to memory difficulties. Özkorucuklu also notes that low scores on cognitive function tests can be associated with excess sugar consumption. She also says that the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which is essential for long-term memory, is affected by excessive sugar consumption, which causes depression.
