Ultra-processed foods: Modern mental health problems?

When you're looking for emotional balance, to improve your mood, or to find the motivation and willpower to start a healthy eating plan or better habits, what’s the first change that comes to mind?

It might seem obvious that if you want to quit sugar and gluten, that’s where you should start, right?

So why is it so hard?

There’s a reason—or several—and it lies in your biology, your gut, and how you digest!

With modern life and the rise in ultra-processed food consumption, rates of Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases in Adults (NCCDs), overweight, obesity, and mental health disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, or eating disorders have increased almost in parallel.

This means that if you remove the cause of NCCDs, you also remove the cause of the latter.

The “perfect” eating plan is not just about reaching your ideal weight—it’s about maintaining lasting habits that become part of your lifestyle!

But you’ve probably noticed that food is often your moment of joy, a time to be with family or friends. This happens because your brain releases dopamine, the pleasure neurotransmitter, in anticipation of consuming foods you enjoy—such as cereals, dairy, and sugar.

When you consume gluten and casein and cannot fully digest them, your body produces gluteomorphins and caseomorphins, which also create pleasure and addiction, since they can’t be properly broken down.

But the more you consume them, the faster the stimulus fades—and you want more and more. This leads to addictive eating behaviors and, eventually, weight gain and obesity.

The statistics speak for themselves:

• In the United States, 60% of Americans are overweight
• Of those who are overweight or obese, 40–50% suffer from binge eating disorder or food addiction
• There are also comorbidities in obese patients with cardiovascular disease and depression

How can you control food intake?

The neurotransmitter that regulates appetite also plays a key role in mood regulation: serotonin, also known as the happiness hormone.

Your brain can’t say “Ouch!”—so when mood disorders or anxiety appear, it’s telling you it’s inflamed or leaky.

Also keep in mind: the higher your insulin levels due to consumption of modern “enemy” foods, the higher your risk of developing diabetes mellitus, which also has neurological consequences.

So, what can you do to lose weight and improve your mood?

• Remove modern, recreational, and unnecessary foods. Even if they make life easier, they’re harming your mood and physical health. This includes not just gluten and dairy, but also sugar and processed/refined foods. By doing so, you reduce insulin spikes that cause widespread inflammation.
• Replace with nutrients your brain needs to produce neurotransmitters—through natural, body-friendly foods you can digest well.
• Restore your health, proper appetite, and mood through the 3R Protocol of Immunonutrition.

Reference:
How Does Ultra-Processed Food Affect Our Mental Health? – Dr. Mark Hyman