Having sugar, even the “bad kind,” on an occasional basis is unlikely to create the kind of mood-altering effects seen in this study, he toldInstead, it’s chronic, long-term, high-dose sugar consumption over a span of months that starts to create this perfect storm of physical and mental changes.
That said, Ilardi added that a sugar binge can cause a blood sugar crash that affects mood and energy, thanks to a rebound effect as the pancreas releases an overly large dose of insulin in response. That can put you in sugar blues territory, but it shouldn’t be confused with true clinical depression, said Ilardi.But if those sugar binges are a regular, perhaps even daily, occurrence that continue over a few months or longer? That’s a different story.
“The average American eats about 22 teaspoons worth of added sugars each day,” he said. “Consuming refined sugar in high doses like that can increase a person’s risk of becoming clinically depressed. That’s the takeaway message here.” That’s why it’s best to curb your added sugar intake to no more than 9 teaspoons per day if you’re a man and no more than 6 teaspoons per day if you’re a woman. Any more than that on a regular basis could up your chances of feeling blue, especially when the cold weather comes around.