Without a plausible mechanism outlined I’d have to guess the causality actually goes the other way, and people with depressive symptoms preferentially seek out quick-hits of endorphins through...
Without a plausible mechanism outlined I’d have to guess the causality actually goes the other way, and people with depressive symptoms preferentially seek out quick-hits of endorphins through fatty and sugary snacks. I’d bet you’d find similar correlations for other compulsive behaviors, such as gambling or porn or tobacco.
...or, it promotes an imbalance in gut microbes (favoring yeasts perhaps) which causes the generation of the wrong milieu of neurotransmitters from the gut flora
...or, it promotes an imbalance in gut microbes (favoring yeasts perhaps) which causes the generation of the wrong milieu of neurotransmitters from the gut flora
Yeah, this seems like a much more sane takeaway from the study than what the author has said: This is honestly irresponsible framing of the issue on the part of Jung. It's far more plausible that...
Yeah, this seems like a much more sane takeaway from the study than what the author has said:
they can also cause another problem: depression. And drinking as little as one can of soda a day can make you feel depressed
This is honestly irresponsible framing of the issue on the part of Jung. It's far more plausible that depression can influence consumption of sugary carbonated drinks than vice-versa if you can't show any evidence other than an association between the two in a study like this. It's ignoring extremely basic psych101 level concepts about correlation and causation to frame this scenario like "drinking a can of soda a day can make you feel depressed".
A study has found that increased consumption of sugary carbonated beverages is linked to a higher likelihood of depressive symptoms, irrespective of weight or blood sugar factors.
While metabolic issues like obesity and insulin resistance were initially believed to be potential mechanisms, the research indicated that the association persisted even beyond these factors.
“Excessive consumption of added sugars through carbonated drinks is not just a problem in Western society,” said study author Ju Young Jung of the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital at Sungkyunkwan University. “In Asian countries like South Korea, the tendency to drink carbonated drinks instead of water is increasing along with westernization. This can cause a variety of health problems. Obesity and diabetes are just some of them."
The participants’ (population: 87,115) medical history, anthropometric measurements, and laboratory measurements were collected. This included information on factors like alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise, physical activity levels, education, hypertension, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), fasting serum glucose, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), serum uric acid levels, and insulin resistance. These were included as control variables.
Even after account for the control variables, the researchers found a significant positive association between sugar-sweetened carbonated beverage consumption and the risk of depressive symptoms.
“Carbonated drinks not only make you fat, but they can also cause another problem: depression. And drinking as little as one can of soda a day can make you feel depressed,” Jung told PsyPost.
“Compared to the United States, Europe, and South America, South Korea is not a country with a high consumption of carbonated beverages. Surprisingly, however, even the group that consumed sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages at least once a week had a higher frequency of depressive symptoms than the group that did not drink at all.”
"We further distinguished between diabetic or prediabetic group from the normal group. However, the association between depression and sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages was confirmed in all diabetes, prediabetes, and normal groups.” Further research is needed to understand the underlying processes involved.
Jung also noted that “our study did not distinguish between zero-calorie beverages, which have recently been increasing in consumption. It is unclear whether zero-calorie drinks also have a strong association with depressive symptoms in Koreans.”
This study, was authored by Sung Keun Park, Yeongu Chung, Yoosoo Chang, Chang-Mo Oh, Jae-Hong Ryoo, and Ju Young Jung.
Without a plausible mechanism outlined I’d have to guess the causality actually goes the other way, and people with depressive symptoms preferentially seek out quick-hits of endorphins through fatty and sugary snacks. I’d bet you’d find similar correlations for other compulsive behaviors, such as gambling or porn or tobacco.
...or, it promotes an imbalance in gut microbes (favoring yeasts perhaps) which causes the generation of the wrong milieu of neurotransmitters from the gut flora
True. It's possible there's a feedback loop there where it promotes cravings for the sugar too.
Yeah, this seems like a much more sane takeaway from the study than what the author has said:
This is honestly irresponsible framing of the issue on the part of Jung. It's far more plausible that depression can influence consumption of sugary carbonated drinks than vice-versa if you can't show any evidence other than an association between the two in a study like this. It's ignoring extremely basic psych101 level concepts about correlation and causation to frame this scenario like "drinking a can of soda a day can make you feel depressed".
Eric W. Dolan