Dietary Sugar and Mental Illness: A Surprising Link

I’ve always known sugar does terrible things to my mind as well as body. I feel a sickly high after eating too much sugar, lose energy and get a depressed sort of brain fog. I thought it was just me!

I have wondered about the long term affects on mood and suspected sugar consumption could have an affect on depression. Recently a noted psychiatric researcher Malcolm Peet, conducted an analysis of the relationship between diet and mental illness. His primary findings agree with my suspicion. He found a strong link between high sugar consumption and the risk of both depression and schizophrenia.

Dietary Sugar and Mental Illness: A Surprising Link

First, sugar actually suppresses activity of a key growth hormone in the brain called BDNF. This hormone promotes the health and maintenance of neurons in the brain, and it plays a vital role in memory function by triggering the growth of new connections between neurons. BDNF levels are critically low in both depression and schizophrenia, which explains why both syndromes often lead to shrinkage of key brain regions over time (yes, chronic depression actually leads to brain damage). There’s also evidence from animal models that low BDNF can trigger depression…

As I’ve become increasingly convinced by these research data, I’ve begun gently encouraging my depressed patients to simply try cutting out sugars for a couple of weeks to see if they notice any effect… A few have had the courage and determination to given it a go: they’re reported remarkable improvements in mood, energy, and mental clarity.