Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

ucl.ac.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 78 posts

Re: High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

#11

Post by dahoramanodoceu »

rybosome wrote: post #3

I'm curious if this includes unprocessed fructose, glucose, lactose, etc. I eat quite a bit of fruit, but my refined sugar intake is much lower than it used to be due to making an effort to cut sugary things out of my life (unless eaten with intention).

The more refined the source the faster it enters your bloodstream. That said, You should eat the fruit rather than consuming a juice.

At any rate the glucose uptake is generally lower with fruits, even if juiced (but whole fruits with fiber still intact are best). The rate at which simple sugars enter the blood is considered one of the primary problems, as this leads to a number of metabolic problems and higher generalized oxidation of body tissue.

Unlike added sugars fruits also have antioxidants and a number of other compounds and nutrients that do a swell job at negating these effects and even providing benefits (i suppose because a lot of fruit has surplus of Anti-Oxidant to Sugar Burn.

Re: High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

#12

Post by scottLobster »

Related: Ketogenic Diets are used to treat medication-resistant epileptic seizures. http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/treating-seizures-and-epilepsy...

There's also substantial evidence that the ketogenic diet is useful for treating other mental disorders: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/the-fat...

Re: High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

#13

Post by QuercusMax »

wutbrodo wrote: post #8
kolinko wrote: post #5

It might be just as well that increased sugar intake is caused by mental disorders, as a form of self-medication. In my case for example, my sugar consumption fell drastically since I received ADHD medications. It turns out I was using sugar as a stimulant/calming agent for years, and no doctor properly figured it out.

From the beginning of the article... > Although previous studies have found an increased risk of depression with higher consumption of added sugars, none examined the role of ‘reverse causation’. If people with anxiety and/or depression tended to consume more sugary foods and drinks, this could be the real reason why a link between sugar intake and poorer mental health is observed. Although the study looked for this…

Mental disorders are also correlated with sleep problems; sleep-deprived brains often crave sugar. This might also be another avenue for causation.

Re: High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

#14

Post by e40 »

kolinko wrote: post #5

It might be just as well that increased sugar intake is caused by mental disorders, as a form of self-medication. In my case for example, my sugar consumption fell drastically since I received ADHD medications. It turns out I was using sugar as a stimulant/calming agent for years, and no doctor properly figured it out.

Without a doubt I have used sugar as medication, many times in my life.

My hypothesis: people that had a lot of sugar as a young person, perhaps in particular ways or situations, has trained their brain to release dopamine in response to sugar. Everyone I know that had little sugar as a young person doesn't get the medicinal value of sugar.

Re: High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

#15

Post by boombip »

QuercusMax wrote: post #13
wutbrodo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the beginning of the article... > Although previous studies have found an increased risk of depression with higher consumption of added sugars, none examined the role of ‘reverse causation’. If people with anxiety and/or depression tended to consume more sugary foods and drinks, this could be the real reason why a link between sugar intake and poorer mental health is observed. Although the study looked for this…

Mental disorders are also correlated with sleep problems; sleep-deprived brains often crave sugar. This might also be another avenue for causation.

> This might also be another avenue for causation.

If people with mental disorders were more sleep-deprived and then consumed more sugar, wouldn't that also show up in the data?

> Although the study looked for this link, it was not seen in the data: men and women with mental disorders were not more likely to consume more sugar.

A causal A > B > C link would look similar (data-wise) to a A > C link.

Re: High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

#17

Post by surrey-fringe »

scottLobster wrote: post #12

Related: Ketogenic Diets are used to treat medication-resistant epileptic seizures. http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/treating-seizures-and-epilepsy... There's also substantial evidence that the ketogenic diet is useful for treating other mental disorders: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/the-fat...

Animal products are bad for you.

Not me though, I'm just trying to reduce demand.

Re: High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

#18

Post by sliverstorm »

rybosome wrote: post #3

I'm curious if this includes unprocessed fructose, glucose, lactose, etc. I eat quite a bit of fruit, but my refined sugar intake is much lower than it used to be due to making an effort to cut sugary things out of my life (unless eaten with intention).

Totally hearsay, but-

I've never really heard anything to suggest fruit is a risk. The fiber slows absorption in the gut, so you don't get the blood sugar spike, and it seems like many issues tied to added sugar consumption trace to the blood sugar spike & insulin response.

Re: High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

#19

Post by tzamora »

surrey-fringe wrote: post #17
scottLobster wrote: post #12

Related: Ketogenic Diets are used to treat medication-resistant epileptic seizures. http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/treating-seizures-and-epilepsy... There's also substantial evidence that the ketogenic diet is useful for treating other mental disorders: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/the-fat...

Animal products are bad for you. Not me though, I'm just trying to reduce demand.

I guess you are talking processed, adultered meat. If you have normal organic meat there is no problem at all. Likely we have been eating meat from the beginning of our existance. The problem is that the anti meat lobby like peta or sugar-bread industry want us to buy more of their products. Keto is a really good healthy diet its just that requires that you educate yourself and also is really hard to mantain because we are really very addicted to bread, flour and sugar.

Re: High refined sugar intake linked to a 23% higher risk of mental disorders

#20

Post by cageface »

tzamora wrote: post #19
surrey-fringe wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Animal products are bad for you. Not me though, I'm just trying to reduce demand.

I guess you are talking processed, adultered meat. If you have normal organic meat there is no problem at all. Likely we have been eating meat from the beginning of our existance. The problem is that the anti meat lobby like peta or sugar-bread industry want us to buy more of their products. Keto is a really good healthy diet its just that requires that you educate yourself and also is really hard to mantain because…

Even organic meat and fish has a lot of downsides. Animal fat and protein is not good for us. Check the videos at nutritionfacts.org for details.
Post reply on HN