Your sweet tooth probably does more than just add a few extra pounds to your waistline. A new study conducted by a team from the University of Surrey in England has revealed a strong relationship between a craving for sweets and serious diseases, including depression and diabetes.
The researchers who published the results in Journal of Translational Medicine, The researchers studied the dietary preferences of 180,000 volunteers at a UK biobank.
Using artificial intelligence, they categorized everyone into three main groups based on what they liked to eat.
- Health conscious: Choose fruits and vegetables instead of animal foods and sweets.
- Omnivore: Likes most foods, including meat, fish, and some vegetables, as well as sweets and desserts.
- Cravings for sweets: He prefers sweet foods and sugary drinks and is less interested in healthy options such as fruits and vegetables.
Within the study
The researchers did not stop at simply classifying people into groups. They delved into volunteers' blood samples, looking at nearly 3,000 proteins and 168 metabolites.
For reference, proteins are like the body's many tools. They do everything from fighting bad infections to helping you flex your muscles to revitalizing your thoughts.
Metabolites, on the other hand, are small molecules that arise during digestion and other chemical processes in the body. They are small biological clues that can tell us a lot about how well the body is functioning.
By comparing these biological markers between different food preference groups, the researchers discovered some revealing results.
According to researchers, it seems that the foods people like or dislike are directly related to their health.
If the favorite foods are cakes, sweets and sugary drinks, the study results suggest that this may have negative effects on health.
Discoveries
The study found that people in the sweet group were 31% more likely to suffer from depression. That's not all, these individuals also have higher rates of diabetes and heart problems compared to other groups.
Looking deeper into the blood tests, researchers found more causes for concern.
In the sweets group, the volunteers had higher levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation.
Blood results also show high glucose levels and poor lipid levels, which is a strong warning sign for diabetes and heart disease.
On the other hand, health-conscious people, who tend to eat more fiber in their diets, have shown lower risks of heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and stroke.
Carnivores were rated moderate, presenting a moderate health risk.
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