A recent medical study has shown that regular consumption of soft drinks and sweetened beverages increases the risk of developing depression.
During the study, researchers analyzed the medical data of more than 520,000 people, which they obtained from several previous studies related to diet and its effect on health. Scientists noted that 55,000 people had symptoms of depression, and it turned out that people who consumed soft drinks and drinks to which sugar was added in large quantities had symptoms of depression that increased by nearly 39% compared to those who did not consume these drinks or rarely drank them.
This association was observed in both cross-sectional studies and long-term observations, and the effect was particularly pronounced for beverages containing added sugar, including soft drinks. The researchers found no relationship between the dose of the beverage and the deterioration of psychological state, meaning that the relationship between soft and sweetened beverages and depression is related to the regular consumption of these beverages and not to the amount consumed.
The researchers emphasize that their study does not prove that consuming soft drinks and sweeteners is a definitive cause of depression, but it does show that reducing consumption of these drinks may be an easy and accessible way to prevent this disease and alleviate the burden on mental health.
