A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest that consuming refined carbohydrates may lead women going through their postmenopausal period to be at higher risk of improving depression.
Refined foods decreases blood sugar levels, altering the hormones which are linked to symptoms of depression.
The Columbia University Medical Center was responsible for the study and it was leaded by James Gangwisch. They studied the medical data for more than 70,000 postmenopausal women who filled out the U.S National Institutes of Health. Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study between the years 1994 and 1998.
The researchers found out that participants who had higher GI scores developed a higher chance of having depression at the rate of 22%. The data also included the types of carbs consumed by the woman and whether any of them had been diagnosed with depression. According to the data it not only leads to depression but fatigue, mood swings and many other symptoms.
The researchers also add that the participants who consumed more dietary fiber, vegetables, whole grain carbs, and non juice fruits had a lower risk of developing depression. This confirms that sticking to a healthy diet could serve as a natural treatment and preventive measures for depression.
The study is only preliminary, but the research team confirmed that further studies would happen in order to verify these findings, also based on larger population samples. And including men as well.