Too Much Sugar is Bad for Your Mood
Highlights:
- Sugar does not improve your mood but worsens within just one hour after consumption
- Sweet foods provide a quick 'fuel refill' turns out to be a myth
- Consuming too many sugary foods or sugar-sweetened drinks can only make you less alert and more tired
- Therefore, watch out on your daily sugar intake to boost your mental health
Eating more sugar can affect your mood and make you feel tired instantly, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
Sugar does not improve mood and it can make people less alert and more tired after its consumption - according to a new study by the University of Warwick, the Humboldt University of Berlin, and Lancaster University.
‘Is sugar bad for your mental health? Yes, eating too much sugar can affect your mood and make you less alert and more tired in just one hour after consumption.’
Details of the Study
The research team set out to examine the myth of the 'sugar rush': can sugar really put you in a better mood? Using data collected from 31 published studies involving almost 1300 adults, Dr Konstantinos Mantantzis at Humboldt University of Berlin, Dr Sandra S�nram-Lea at Lancaster University, and Dr Friederike Schlaghecken and Professor Elizabeth Maylor in the University of Warwick's Department of Psychology investigated the effect of sugar on various aspects of mood, including anger, alertness, depression, and fatigue.
They also considered how factors such as the quantity and type of sugar consumed might affect mood, and whether engaging in demanding mental and physical activities made any difference.
Findings of the Study
Using data collected from 31 studies, the researchers discovered that sugar consumption does not have a beneficial effect on mood. Instead, sugar increases tiredness and lowers alertness within an hour after its consumption
The research team found that :
- sugar consumption has virtually no effect on mood, regardless of how much sugar is consumed or whether people engage in demanding activities after taking it
- people who consumed sugar felt more tired and less alert than those who had not
- the idea of a 'sugar rush' is a myth without any truth behind it
Professor Elizabeth Maylor, from the University of Warwick, commented:
"We hope that our findings will go a long way to dispel the myth of the 'sugar rush' and inform public health policies to decrease sugar consumption."
Dr. Konstantinos Mantantzis, from Humboldt University of Berlin, who led the study, said:
"The idea that sugar can improve mood has been widely influential in popular culture, so much so that people all over the world consume sugary drinks to become more alert or combat fatigue."
"Our findings very clearly indicate that such claims are not substantiated - if anything, sugar will probably make you feel worse."
Dr. Sandra S�nram-Lea added:
"The rise in obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome in recent years highlights the need for evidence-based dietary strategies to promote a healthy lifestyle across the lifespan. Our findings indicate that sugary drinks or snacks do not provide a quick 'fuel refill' to make us feel more alert."
Source: Eurekalert
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Adeline Dorcas. 2019. Too Much Sugar is Bad for Your Mood. Medindia, viewed Dec 23, 2024, https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/too-much-sugar-is-bad-for-your-mood-187105-1.htm.