It's no surprise that we tend to eat a little more and gain some extra pounds around the holidays.
But while it may be OK to make unhealthy choices during all the hustle and bustle of the season, three specific foods can lead to depression if made into a regular habit, LiveScience reported.
Many New Year's resolutions revolve around making promises to lose weight and give up certain guilty pleasures to maintain healthy diets. Are these a reflection of our guilt? According to recent studies, this guilt is well placed since some food choices can lead us to more than an expanding waistline.
According to LiveScience, it's possible that eating certain foods is associated with depression. Here are three foods you may want to avoid in excess this holiday season, and beyond.
Refined Grains: Pasta is a quick and tasty meal to have during busy days or when eating outside at restaurants. But you might want to rethink having pasta every night.
Pasta, white rice and bagels are all foods that have been identified as inflammatory and have been linked to depression in women ages 50 to 77, according to an October 2013 study in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
In the study, researchers looked at the eating habits of more than 40,000 women, who didn't have depression at the study's start. They found that those who consumed inflammatory foods regularly were more likely to suffer from depression by the end of the study.
Soft Drinks: If soda is your go-to drink when you're thirsty, it may be time to rethink that strategy. Water might prove to be both a healthier and a happier choice to adapt. Soft drinks as part of a regular diet may also contribute to depression, the study indicated.
Fast Food: It's well known that eating fast food is not the best choice one can make. According to a 2012 study in the journal Public Health Nutrition, people who eat fast food are 51 percent more likely to develop depression than those who don't. This includes commercial baked goods, hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza, the researchers said.
Keep in mind that eating a small portion of any one food is unlikely to raise depression risk, so don't worry if you've just eaten your first heaping bowl of pasta in ages, or had the very occasional fast food burger, according to LiveScience. On the other hand, if this list describes three of your basic food groups, you may benefit from a drastic dietary adjustment.