Does eating fast food/ “bad food” play a part in depression?

Roland of Gilead: Does eating fast food/ “bad food” play a part in depression?
I’ve noticed that when I go a week eating the suggested healthy foods, that I feel better. If/when I binge for a week on fast food, I get depressed and unmotivated. Is this common for anyone else?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Britta Britta
YES!!!

Have you ever seen that movie where the guy only ate McDonalds for 30 days? After only a few days of eating crap (and not exercising), he was feeling depressed, unmotivated, and dependant on junk food!!!

Answer by Brookie
Yes, I’ve gone through the same thing many times. I’ve watched a documentry called “Supersize Me” and the same thing happens to the main character. One more reason to eat healthier and ditch the fast food!

Answer by bebeangelsmami
I think it does play a part in depression, but it can affect everyone differently. Take me for example, if I eat healthy I feel physically well and deprived at the same time, whereas if I eat fast/unhealthy food I can go days just feeling kind of numb yet satisfied. Then after a few days I look back and feel bad for eating that junk.

Answer by Megan G
Absolutely….when you eat “bad food” your body often is overwhelmed with toxins and therefore you liver cannot detoxify as quickly as it needs to. This causes these excess toxins to be “dumped” into your body to circulate and create problems in other areas (ie: your brain). When you eat unhealthy foods, they create inflammation and this allows cytokines, opiods and other inflammatory markers to circulate in your body. These inflammatory markers can then travel to your brain and lead to things such as depression. Another thing that happens is that “bad food” depletes your body of certain nutrients such as B12 and folic acid. These nutrients are needed for proper methylation; which is how DNA is transcribed and translated. Therefore if your body is depleted of these nutrients it cannot properly make the neurotransmitters that are required for proper brain function (ex: you don’t make enough seratonin, which is responsible for helping elevate your moods). It is important for depression that you eat a healthy whole foods diet most of the time, however everyone needs to have a treat once in a while so just keep it in moderation!

Answer by dukefenton
Depending on exactly what you eat, it can adversely affect your blood sugar level, and that can certainly affect your mood.