Eating fake meat products like burgers made with lab-engineered ingredients could make you more likely to develop depression, new research has suggested. Scientists compared mental health symptoms of vegetarians who eat plant-based meat alternatives with those who do not.
The results, published in the medical journal Food Frontiers, revealed that those who ate meat substitutes were 42 per cent more likely to be depressed compared to those who didn't. The authors, who described this findings as 'concerning', also noted that fake meat eaters had higher blood pressure and more inflammation, according to blood test results.
They suggest the link between the convenience foods and the mental health problem may be due to inflammation in the body, which is thought to interfere with feel good brain chemicals. However the researchers say more study is needed to identify why the plant based meat eaters were more likely to be depressed.
University of Surrey researchers analysed data from the UK Biobank — which tracks health data on more than 500,000 people. Of the participants, there were 3,342 people eligible to be studied with around two-thirds of all participants female. Plant-based meats have been linked to an increased risk of depression, according to UK researchers.
Plant-based meats — used to make 'fake' burgers and sausages — are considered to be an ultra processed food (UPF) due to the high number of additives used, such as preservatives and flavourings. Ultra-processed food also typically contain a high level of calories, sugar, saturated fat and salt.
