Depression: when sodas ruin your gut flora and your mood
In women, high soda consumption is associated with more frequent and severe depressive disorders. An intestinal bacterium, Eggerthella, may partly explain this link.
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About this article
Obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer: soda consumption is implicated in numerous health problems, with effects that are sometimes underestimated. This list could grow longer and now include
(sidenote:
Depression
Depressive disorder (also known as depression) is a common mental disorder. It involves a depressed mood or loss of pleasure or interest in activities for long periods of time. A depressive episode is different from regular mood fluctuations. They last most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks. A depressive episode can be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe depending on the number and severity of symptoms, as well as the impact on the individual’s functioning.
Source : https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
)
, according to the intriguing results of a new German study 1.
When science takes an interest in your soda can
To get to the bottom of this, a team of researchers analyzed data from more than 900 Germans aged 18 to 65, recruited in two large cities (Marburg and Münster).
Among them were 405 people (two-thirds of whom were women) suffering from major depressive disorder and 527 healthy controls of comparable age and gender.
Their goal was to understand whether the amount of soda consumed could predict a diagnosis of depression or the severity of symptoms.
Verdict?
In women, the more soda they consume, the higher their risk of depression and the more severe their symptoms. But this is not the case for men.
The unexpected role of gut microbiota
The researchers continued to dig deeper, going beyond the simple link between soda and depression. They looked at what was happening in the gut microbiota, the vast microbial ecosystem that influences digestion, immunity, and even mood... and whose composition and balance vary with our diet, including soda.
In particular, they focused on two gut bacteria suspected by previous studies of being involved in major depressive disorders:
- Eggerthella
- and Hungatella.
The result: in the women in this study, soda consumption was indeed associated with an increase in Eggerthella in the microbiota; Hungatella, on the other hand, appeared to be unrelated.
Eggerthella alone could explain 3.8% of the link between soft drinks and depression and 5% of the link between soft drinks and symptom severity. .
Thus, soft drink consumption appears to be linked to major depressive disorder (MDD), and the gut bacterium Eggerthella may be involved by affecting the balance of the microbiota.
This finding is particularly worrying given that consumption of these drinks is increasing worldwide, especially among children and adolescents. These results also provide further evidence in favor of the gut-brain axis and the link between gut microbiota and mental illness.
But there is some good news. Certain dietary approaches can also support a more balanced microbiota and help regulate mood.
Find out how certain foods could play a protective role by reading our article:
