{"id":8183,"date":"2025-06-09T12:05:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T12:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/?p=8183"},"modified":"2025-06-09T12:14:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T12:14:25","slug":"8183","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/09\/8183\/","title":{"rendered":"Low-calorie diets may negatively impact mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Yes, research suggests that <strong>low-calorie diets<\/strong> (especially very restrictive ones) may have <strong>negative effects on mental health<\/strong>, including increased stress, anxiety, irritability, and even depression. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Low-Calorie Diets May Harm Mental Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nutrient Deficiencies<\/strong> \u2013 Severely cutting calories can lead to low levels of:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>B vitamins<\/strong> (important for mood regulation)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Omega-3s<\/strong> (linked to reduced depression risk)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Magnesium &amp; Zinc<\/strong> (affect stress and neurotransmitter function)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hormonal Changes<\/strong> \u2013 Extreme calorie restriction can:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Lower <strong>serotonin<\/strong> (the &#8220;feel-good&#8221; hormone)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increase <strong>cortisol<\/strong> (stress hormone), worsening anxiety<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Brain Fuel Shortage<\/strong> \u2013 The brain relies on glucose, and very low-calorie diets (especially low-carb) may lead to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Brain fog<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fatigue<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mood swings<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Psychological Effects<\/strong> \u2013 Strict dieting can lead to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Food obsession<\/strong> (increased cravings)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Guilt &amp; shame<\/strong> around eating<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Higher risk of disordered eating<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Who\u2019s Most at Risk?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>People with a history of <strong>anxiety, depression, or eating disorders<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Those on <strong>very low-calorie diets (&lt;1,200 kcal\/day for women, &lt;1,500 kcal\/day for men)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Long-term dieters with <strong>yo-yo weight fluctuations<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Healthier Alternatives<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2714 <strong>Moderate calorie deficit<\/strong> (e.g., 300\u2013500 kcal below maintenance)<br>\u2714 <strong>Balanced macros<\/strong> (enough protein, healthy fats, and fiber)<br>\u2714 <strong>Mindful eating<\/strong> (not overly restrictive)<br>\u2714 <strong>Regular meals<\/strong> (avoiding extreme hunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While weight loss can benefit physical health, <strong>extreme calorie restriction often backfires mentally<\/strong>. A <strong>sustainable, nutrient-rich diet<\/strong> is better for <strong>both body and mind<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Reference:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/low-calorie-diets-may-negatively-impact-mental-health\">https:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/low-calorie-diets-may-negatively-impact-mental-health<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/06\/03\/health\/diet-calories-depression-wellness\">https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/06\/03\/health\/diet-calories-depression-wellness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4790398\">https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4790398<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Medications that have been suggested by doctors worldwide are available on below link<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mygenericpharmacy.com\/category\/disease\/mental-health\">https:\/\/mygenericpharmacy.com\/category\/disease\/mental-health<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, research suggests that low-calorie diets (especially very restrictive ones) may have negative effects on mental health, including increased stress, anxiety, irritability, and even depression. Here\u2019s why: How Low-Calorie Diets May Harm Mental Health Who\u2019s Most at Risk? Healthier Alternatives \u2714 Moderate calorie deficit (e.g., 300\u2013500 kcal below maintenance)\u2714 Balanced macros (enough protein, healthy fats, and fiber)\u2714 Mindful eating (not overly restrictive)\u2714 Regular meals (avoiding extreme hunger. While weight loss can benefit physical health, extreme calorie restriction often backfires mentally&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/09\/8183\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mental-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8183"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8185,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8183\/revisions\/8185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mygenericpharmacy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}