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The Western Diet Essay

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The Western Diet mainly consists of fried foods, refined grains, sugar, high carbohydrate and fats, and meats (3). It has been hypothesized that having a Western Diet increases one’s chances for developing depression. There has been a great deal of research into why the western diet increase’s one chance of having depression. A common sense reason maybe that the Western Diet consisted of large amounts carbohydrates, fats and sugars which promotes obesity and then causes depression (1). More scientific evidence suggest that having a improper diet like the Western Diet negatively affects peripheral and central dopamine, which are neurotransmitters (chemical which transmit signals across the synapse from the nerve cell to the target cell) …show more content…

1494 women ages 20-94 between the years of 1994 to 1997 were randomly selected to be in an epidemiological study (3). This study examined how mental health (dependent variable) was affected by having a Western Diet (independent variable). The subjects were evaluated by dietary and psychiatric assessment. The covariates of the study were socioeconomic standing, drinking, smoking, Body Mass Index and physical activity levels. The subjects were asked to return in 10 years for a follow up appointment. 881 of the original participants returned for the appointment from 2004 to 2008. Participant’s diets were assessed through questionnaires. Psychiatric assessments were given with a 12 item version of the general health questionnaire. Regressions were ran with the data and the results showed that foods such as vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, and whole grains were associated associated with lower odds for major depression and anxiety. The Western Diet which consisted of mainly fried foods, sugar, and grains had a negative effect psychologically. It was also found that the worse the diet is (more fried food and refined grains) the worse psychologically it is for the body. Researchers concluded that there was a significant association between having a Western Diet and a deterioration in mental health. While, there is positive association between having a Western and the increased probability of depression, a recent study also found that there is

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