It may not come as a shock to many to learn that when you eat fried food on a regular basis, you may run into several health risks. Some of these include clogged arteries, heart failure, heart attacks, and even strokes. However, if that’s not enough to get you to skip your next bowl of chips, the connection between fried food with anxiety and depression might just put you over the edge.
Research from a population-based peer-reviewed study in China, more than 140,000 people were studied to see if there is a connection between consuming fried foods and the development of mental health issues. Researchers found that the more fried food that was consumed, especially fried potatoes, the higher the risk of anxiety and depression.
Frequent consumption of fries is associated with a 12% higher risk of anxiety and a 7% higher risk of depression, so eat at your own risk!
Scientists have found a correlation between acrylamide, a chemical created during the frying process, and these low feelings. Long term exposure, according to scientists, can cause anxiety and depressive behaviors through neuro-inflammation mediated by stress.
To gain a better understanding of this chemical, scientists looked at zebrafish exposed to the chemical and learned that these fish would find themselves staying in darker parts of the tank and had higher levels of anxiety. They also would stay away from forming schools and socialized less, frequently swimming further away from their species counterparts.
However, according to the researchers, the findings do not mean that people should panic about the negative effects of fried food. This is a wake-up call to reduce fried food consumption for better mental health and overall well-being.
Two ends of the spectrum
Some scientists have been able to examine the possibility of the opposite effect. They believe that these mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety, will frequently push people to change their diet. What’s wrong with a little indulgence to self-heal? These scientists don’t see the same concerns as others.
“The human component of this study may indicate exactly what it claims: that higher consumption of fried food increases the risk of anxiety and depression,” Dr. David Katz, an expert in lifestyle medicine who was not involved in the study, told CNN. “The causal pathway could just as well go the other way: people with anxiety/depression turn to ‘comfort food’ with increasing frequency for some semblance of relief.”
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