
THURSDAY, Sept. 21, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Highly processed packaged foods and drinks may be quick, cheap and tasty, but new research suggests they’re also likely to up your risk for depression.Among big consumers of ultra-processed foods, depression risk may rise by as much as 50%, the new study found, particularly when those foods are artificially sweetened.“Given what we know about these foods and the important role of diet in mood, we were not surprised to find this association,†said study author Dr. Andrew Chan, vice chair of gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.At issue, he said, are foods that are “highly altered, often through industrial processes such as hydrogenation.â€Hydrogenation is a chemical...