Elizabeth Maylor from the University of Warwick, says, “We hope that our findings will go a long way to dispel the myth of the ‘sugar rush’ and inform public health policies to decrease sugar consumption.” “In fact, consumption was related to decreased alertness and higher levels of fatigue within the first hour post-ingestion.” They also looked at the effect of sugar intake after different lengths of time, running separate analyses for the effects at 0–30 minutes, 31–60 minutes, and more than 60 minutes.Ĭontrary to popular belief, the meta-analysis found no evidence of any changes in mood at any of the time points following carbohydrate ingestion. The researchers looked at differences in a range of psychological parameters, including alertness, depression, calmness, fatigue, confusion, tension, and anger. They had also all investigated the effects of acute oral administration of carbohydrates as opposed to the long-term effects. For instance, all of them were randomized control trials that involved healthy adults. All of these studies met specific criteria. They recently published their findings in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.įor their analysis, the researchers used data from 31 existing trials. The scientists hail from Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany and from Lancaster University and Warwick University, both in the United Kingdom. “Interestingly, despite researchers not having reached a consensus regarding the exact effects of sugar on mood, it seems that the public strongly believes in the idea that sugar improves mood and increases activity levels (especially in children).” The authors explain why they decided to investigate: However, the results of the research to date are far from conclusive.Ī group of researchers recently carried out a meta-analysis with the aim of understanding how acute sugar intake affects mood. These types of investigation have reignited public interest in the cognitive effects of sugar intake. One study, as an example, concludes that sugar intake seems to harm long-term psychological health. Recently, a number of researchers have looked in more detail at the relationship between sugar and mental health.
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