A well-known psychiatrist and a brain-imaging researcher in California Dr Daniel Amen, has revealed that people who are suffering from depression should eat less junk food as it may affect their mental health.
In a TikTok video, Daniel said, “ Your gut health is critical to brain health, which means if you eat ultra-processed food, you will automatically increase the risk of depression.”

For a long time, researchers have been pinpointing the importance of the gut-brain connection which means your gut and brain are in a constant connection. Both the brain and gut communicate through a network of nerves and chemical signals, the brain gives signals to the gut to get it ready for food digestion. Meanwhile, if you are stressed, these signals can be triggered causing gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea and diarrhoea.

The gut microbiome - a collection of bacteria, viruses and fungi in our digestive system produces chemicals that can influence our brain and affect our mood.

Dr Daniel says our gut microbiome consists of 100 trillion microbes, particularly bacteria,  which he refers to as bugs. He further adds if you feed your gut microbes with healthy food it will support your brain.
Besides this junk food has various adverse effects like obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart attack and many more, says National Institute of Health.