Comment:

As we have seen food plays a large role in our mental wellbeing so it should be no surprise that what we drink also plays a role. 

What do you usually drink, should you change what you drink?

 

Research:

As study carried out in the US on 263,925 people has found that high consumption of fizzy drinks and fruit squashes increases your chances of becoming depressed. 

The people’s drinking habits were monitored (fizzy drinks, squash, tea, coffee) between 1995-1996.

Drinking four cans of fizzy drinks led to an increase in mental illnesses of 30% (this rises when diet options are chosen), whilst drinking he same volume of squash led to an increase of 38%. 

On the other hand it was found that those who drunk four cups of coffee a day were 10% less likely to become depressed. One reseacher Dr Honglei Chen said, “Cutting down on diet drinks or replacing them with unsweetened coffee may help lower your depression risk.”

Although there was praise from the Depression Alliance for the research and raised awareness of the problem fizzy drinks can have on mental health the British Soft Drinks Association said the research was not thorough enough to provide a complete view on the matter. 

 

Original article can be found here: http://metro.co.uk/2013/01/08/fizzy-drinks-and-fruit-squashes-linked-to-depression-3344010/