A new study conducted at the National Institutes of Health has found a link between depression and consumption of diet soda. Conversely, drinking coffee is tied to a slightly lower risk of developing that disease. The study will be released in March at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers looked at the soda, tea, fruit punch, and coffee consumption of 263,925 people between the ages of 50 and 71, in the years 1995 and 1996. They then studied the mental health of those patients from 1985 to 2000, and found that people who consumed at least four cans of diet soda every day had a 30% greater risk of developing depression. The scientists also found that those who drank four cans of fruit punch every day were 38% more likely to develop depression than those who did not consume sweetened drinks. Those who drank four cups of coffee per day were 10% less likely to develop depression than those who drank no coffee. According to the study, “the risk appeared to be greater for people who drank diet than regular soda, diet than regular fruit punches and for diet than regular iced tea.”
The study’s author, Dr. Honglei Chen, said in a statement that “our research suggests that cutting out or down on sweetened diet drinks or replacing them with unsweetened coffee may naturally help lower your depression risk. More research is needed to confirm these findings, and people with depression should continue to take depression medications prescribed by their doctors.”
