Atkins diet may be linked to depression
An article on BBC news reports research from MIT suggesting that the Atkins diet may be associated with mood swings and depression. Judith Wurtman and colleagues at the MIT clinical research centre have confirmed earlier research suggesting that consumption of carbohydrates is essential for the production of serotonin, which, as well as being involved in satiety, also helps in emotion regulation.
Interestingly, the researchers suggest that eating carbs in combination with little or no protein has most impact on serotonin. This led me to ponder the research findings suggesting that binges in bulimia nervosa are often composed of mainly carbohydrates. Colleagues and I wrote about this in a paper entitled 'Size really doesn't matter' (B. Lawrence, M. Campbell, M. Neiderman & L. Serpell (2003) European Eating Disorder Review 11: 397-404).
More generally, the role of serotonin in eating disorders has been hotly debated. Walter Kaye has written extensively on this, and there's a good (although not very recent) review in Psychopharmacology Bulletin:
Wolfe, B., Metzger, E., & Jimerson, D. (1997). Research update on serotonin function in bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 33, 345-354.
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