Excessive Sugar Consumption and Depression

Our ancestors got their energy from whole foods like berries, corn, and nuts. In our modern world, our diets are filled with highly refined, highly processed foods. Our food manufacturing capabilities can concentrate, refine, condense, and artificially manufacture more sugar in a single serving than is natural for the body to intake, and our obesity rates reflect this.

In the United States, the average adult consumes 77 grams of sugar per day, which is over 3 times the recommended amount. This adds up to approximately 60 pounds of added sugar per year. The numbers are even worse for children.

This has broad health implications including a higher risk of depression. Research suggests there is a link between sugar consumption and depression.

Sleep disturbances and fatigue are among the symptoms of depression, and inadequate sleep can spur sugar cravings. A 2018 study showed that increasing sleep time led to lower sugar intake the following day.

One study spanning nearly 3 decades examined the dietary habits of more than 10,000 participants, ages 35 to 55. It found that a high-sugar diet played a role in depression and other mental disorders.