There is certainly no denying the fact that not eating healthy can lead to people developing certain health problems, such as heart issues, diabetes, obesity and similar things. Ultra-processed food, as delicious as it may be, can undeniably be extremely harmful for our health, and most people understand that, which is why most people are trying to reduce their consumption of such food. And, that is, without a doubt, a good idea. Go here to get a better understanding of what ultra-processed food is.
Anyway, while you may understand how this type of food affects your physical health, the truth is that you may not be entirely aware of the fact that it has a negative impact on our mental health as well. For one thing, there’s the gut and brain connection that we cannot deny, and these types of ingredients are sure to affect the gut microbiome negatively. And, then, we cannot deny the fact that those products can also cause inflammation, which can surely affect our mental health negatively, leading to fatigue, contributing to anxiety, depression and other types of problems.
Okay, the above is probably at least slightly new to you. In other words, you may not have understood the link between your diet and your mental health in the past, although you’ve always suspected that the link is actually important. So, when it comes to ultra-processed foods, you now have a better idea about it. And, it all seems quite logical, meaning that it is not difficult for you to understand any of this.
Now, while it may be easy for you to understand this specifically, there is another part of the story that you may be interested in, having heard someone mention it, or simply having started wondering yourself. In short, you want to know whether ultra-processed foods can affect SSRI medications and if yes, then how. Perhaps someone has hinted at this, or you may have found a piece of information about it somewhere online, or you may have basically been wondering yourself if there is a link between those two, and now you want to get a better understanding of it.
Read more about ultra-processed foods: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10260459/
So, Do Ultra-Processed Foods Have an Impact on SSRI Medications?
Well, since you have quite an important question on your mind, let me cut right to the chase and make things completely clear. Basically, the answer to the question above is yes. Yes, ultra-processed foods can actually affect SSRI medications. Or, better yet, they can affect how you respond to SSRIs, which is extremely important, so there is no doubt that you want to learn more about those effects, and then check if you may need to make some dietary changes in order to help the medication you are taking actually do their magic.
Before we get to talking about how these products affect the medication, let me quickly make sure that you understand what SSRIs are in the first place. Basically, we are talking about selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, drugs that fall into the category of antidepressants, and that can be used during the treatment of various problems, including, naturally, anxiety and depression. They work by preventing the re-uptake or serotonin, and thus ensuring that it remains in the synaptic cleft, thus providing your brain with more serotonin in general.
How?
Okay, you now have a much better idea about what SSRIs are and how they work. What you want to do next is actually understand how ultra-processed foods affect these medications, and how they have an impact on the way you will respond to them. You may not be sure that these products really have that big of an impact, and you want to check that, which is completely normal, especially if you are wondering if you should make changes to your particular diet. So, anyway, let us make things a bit clearer.
First things first, there is the fact that a huge amount of serotonin is produced in your gut – around 95%. And, well, when you consume a lot of UPF, the gut microbiome is sure to be disrupted, resulting in a lower serotonin production. Thus, combining SSRI and Ultra Processed Foods in a way means making the medications less effective, because they won’t have enough serotonin in the synaptic cleft released in order to aim at preventing its reuptake. In the simplest words possible, chances are that the medications won’t be as effective as you may have wanted them to be.
The same goes because your brain needs certain nutrients to function properly and to maintain a kind of a chemical balance. And, well, ultra-processed foods are full of calories, but they don’t have much vitamins, minerals, and other types of nutrients that your brain may need. Clearly, that can also disrupt the work of SSRIs. In short, you may find the medication not being effective due to a high consumption of UPF.
