A study from the National Institutes of Health suggests that people who consume soda—especially those who drink diet soda—are more likely to suffer from depression. The study didn't prove that drinking soda was a direct cause of depression, but the connection was significant enough for researchers to make a note of it.
The study consisted of 264,000 people between the ages of 50 and 71. Researchers examined their consumption of drinks such as tea, soda, fruit punch and coffee from 1995 to 1996. Ten years later, they checked in to see who had been diagnosed with depression and 11,311 confirmed that they had been.
People who admitted to drinking more than 4 cans or cups of any type of soda were 30 percent more likely to develop depression than those who don't drink soda. Fruit punch drinkers were 38 percent more likely to be depressed than people who didn't fruit punch.
In addition, people who drank diet sodas, fruit punch and iced tea were 31 percent more likely to be depressed than non-soda drinkers, while those who drank regular sodas were at a 22 percent greater risk. Diet fruit punch drinkers were a staggering 51 percent more likely to be depressed than non-drinkers.
Coffee drinkers were lucky, as those who drank more than 4 cups per day were roughly 10 percent less likely than to develop depression than non-drinkers.
[via NY Daily News]
