Pasta and depression have been linked in a new study. According to the journal “Brain, Behavior, and Immunity,” the link between depression and refined grains like pasta and chips was evaluated.
In the study, researchers evaluated 43,000 women who were not diagnosed with depression, and they looked at their diets.
Women who drank soft drinks, ate red meat, and ate refined grains like chips, crackers, white bread, and pasta on a daily basis had a 29 percent to 41 percent greater chance of being treated or getting diagnosed with depression. This is in comparison with women who had a healthier diet, reported MSN.
It also found that women who ate those foods tested for the three biomarkers of inflammation.
Michel Lucas, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, told MSN that it is unclear how inflammation and depression are linked.
He said there is more and more evidence of foods that similarly increase inflammation and depression.
He added that wine, olive oil, coffee, carrots, sweet potatoes, and leafy vegetables can reduce inflammation.
Last month, a study from the University of Eastern Finland found that a healthy diet might reduce the risk of depression.
Researchers with the university evaluated 2,000 men to come up with their findings.
“The study reinforces the hypothesis that a healthy diet has potential not only in the warding off of depression, but also in its prevention,” Anu Ruusunen with the university said, according to Science Daily.
It added that junk food, sugar, and processed meats might increase depression symptoms.
