Despite the fact that fries are a comfort food and momentary well-being for many, in the long term they are harmful not only to physical, but also to mental health. As reported by CNN, scientists from Hangzhou, China found that frequent consumption of fried foods, especially fried potatoes, is related to depression and anxieties.

Research results suggest that people who frequently indulged in fried foods such as French fries were 12 percent more likely to have anxiety problems and 7 percent more likely to suffer from depression than people who did not eat fried foods .

In the last quarter of last year, symptoms of depression and anxiety manifested themselves in fourteen percent of the respondents. In the years before the crises, depression and anxiety appeared in only six percent of respondents.

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The experts published the research on Monday in the scientific journal PNAS. “The results open the way to understanding the importance of reducing the amount fried foods because of mental health,” study author Yu Chang from Zhejiang University was quoted as saying by the MedicalDaily website.

Fried foods were eaten mostly by young people

The researchers followed 140,728 people over eleven years. After excluding participants under two years of age diagnosed with depression, researchers found 8,294 cases of anxiety and 12,735 cases of depression among those who consumed fried foods. “The study ultimately suggests exactly what it hypothesizes, which is that higher consumption of fried foods increases the risk of anxiety and depression,” lifestyle expert Dr. David Katz, who was not involved in the study, told CNN.

The results also showed that participants who regularly consumed more than one serving of fried food per day were more likely to be young people, especially young men, the WION website reported.

Experts have found their villain, the chemical acrylamide

The researchers believe that acrylamide is responsible for the increased risks that their study showed. The chemical substance is created during frying, especially in potatoes. Researchers have found that when someone is exposed to acrylamide long-term, the substance can cause anxiety and depression-like behavior due to neuroinflammation caused by oxidative stress.

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As part of the research, the experts therefore decided to observe what effect acrylamide will have on the behavior of fish called zebrafish. They found that individuals exposed to it for a long time stayed in the dark parts of the aquarium. This, according to the researchers, indicates a higher level of anxiety in these animals.

In addition to staying in shadows and dark corners, they also showed a reduced ability to explore the tank and socialize. These fish normally gather in schools of the same species. “Zebrafish were probably chosen because they are already shown to be sensitive to acrylamide toxicity and their behavioral responses to anxiety are validated and consistent,” Katz explained.

People are not fish, the results must be taken with a grain of salt

Harvard University epidemiologist and nutrition expert Walter Willet said the results should be taken with a grain of salt. “Zebra data are difficult to interpret in relation to human health because of course we are quite different,” he said.

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He also pointed out that acrylamide is not only formed during frying. It is found in coffee after roasting or for example in toasts, where it can be formed when carbohydrates are heated together with proteins. “The health effects of fried foods will depend greatly on what foods are fried and what type of fat is used to fry them,” he wrote.

The results are not clear cut

Chang’s team realizes that humans and fish are different. He emphasized that the results of the study are only preliminary. It also needs to be clarified whether people suffering from anxiety and depression seek out fried foods as a result of their conditions or whether these foods are the cause of their problems, NDTV reported.

Katz agrees with the authors. He drew attention to the fact that the causal connection can also be the other way around. “People suffering from anxiety or depression are increasingly turning to these comfort foods to at least ostensibly relieve themselves,” he explained. According to him, it is a certain way of self-medication.

Potatoes cause mood swings

According to the authors, the findings do not mean that people should start panicking and immediately stop eating fried foods. But it is a call to stop eating such processed foods in too large quantities.

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Willet noted that they can be the problem potatoes represent also because they can influence human moods. Consuming them can cause large spikes in blood sugar levels that trigger subsequent hormonal responses to these fluctuations.

Anxiety and depression on the rise

Chang and his team also pointed to recent global increases in depression and anxiety. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 5 percent of adults worldwide suffer from depression, and in 2020 alone, there was a 25.6 percent increase in people suffering from depression and anxiety.

According to Katz, the research added more evidence that a lack of variety in food reduces well-being. “If there is one lesson to be learned from this, it is simply that the overall quality of the diet and the choice of quality foods has a profound effect on all aspects of health. Both mental and physical,” he added.