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For many people, French fries are a food that brings happiness. Whether in the form of sticks, chips, wedges, buns, grilled…, with ketchup, mayonnaise or salsa brava, they are an essential snack or side dish. And although it is a fried and therefore unhealthy dish that should not be eaten every day, it seems that a scientific study has gone further and links potato chips with an increased risk of anxiety and depression.
According to a research team from Zhejiang University (China), regular consumption of fried foods, especially French fries, is associated with an increased risk of anxiety (12%) and depression (7%), compared to people who do not eat fried foods, as published in CNN. That percentage was even higher in men and especially in younger consumers.
It is well known that eating any fried food frequently is a risk factor for obesity, high blood pressure and other health problems. But this study has also determined that these foods also have a negative influence on our mental health, according to the study published in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America).
The culprit: acrylamide
The main reason suggested by the research -in which more than 140,000 people participated- is the presence of acrylamide, a chemical substance that is formed during the frying process, especially in French fries, and that would be the culprit for the increased risk of anxiety and depression. According to the Spanish Association for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), acrylamide is a “chemical that is created naturally in food products containing starch during everyday cooking processes at high temperatures (frying, roasting, roasting and also during industrial processes at 120 ºC and low humidity)”. And according to the Zhejiang University study, “prolonged exposure to acrylamide induces anxiety and depressive behaviors through oxidative stress-mediated neuroinflammation”.
However, other nutritional experts affirm that these are preliminary results. In fact, many specialists turn the theory around and explain that the cause of this problem could also be the other way around. That is, that people with depression or anxiety resort more to this type of “comfort” food as a kind of self-medication or relief for depression or anxiety, as stated by Dr. Katz on CNN.
Other researchers, on the other hand, soften the alarm of this problem, advising to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reducing – without having to completely eliminate – the intake of fried foods for a good overall health and, of course, mental health. This is explained by Yu Zhang himself, author of the study.