Avoid Too Much Sugar if You Have the Winter Blues

New U.S. research suggests that if you suffer from depression, which can be particularly common during the darker winter months, then avoiding sugary foods could help to ease symptoms.

Carried out by a team of psychologists at the University of Kansas, the new study looked at previous research on the physiological and psychological effects of consuming added sugar and included data taken from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, which has recruited 161,808 women since its launch in 1993, and the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, which has a total of 567,169 participants.

The findings, published online in the journal Medical Hypotheses, suggested that eating sugary foods, which are particularly common at this time of year as we gear up for the holiday season, may cause some of the metabolic, inflammatory and neuro-biological processes that are linked to depression.

This combination of high sugar consumption, darker days and the change in sleep habits associated with winter could together have a negative effect on mental health, say the researchers.

"For many people, reduced sunlight exposure during the winter will throw off circadian rhythms, disrupting healthy sleep and pushing five to 10 percent of the population into a full-blown episode of clinical depression," said co-author Stephen Ilardi.

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