Sweetened beverages may give you a temporary sugar high, but a study on ScienceDaily.com reveals that consuming too much of it may in fact increase the risk of depression.

The massive study by author Honglei Chen, MD, PhD, and his colleagues, worked with 263,925 volunteers between ages 50 and 71. Drinks that the participants consumed from 1995 to 1996 were evaluated, and a follow-up was given 10 years later to see if any have been diagnosed with depression from the year 2000.

The results showed that people who drank more than four cans of soda a day had a 30 percent depression risk increase as compared to those who didn’t drink soda, while those who drank more than four cans of sweetened juice in a day increased the risk to 38 percent. The effect was more prominent in those who consumed diet drinks.

On the other hand, those who drank at least four cups of coffee a day were 10 percent less likely to be diagnosed with depression than those who didn’t drink coffee.

Although sodas and sweetened fruit juices are okay once in a while, continuous consumption may also increase the risk of obesity, so as much as you can, drink only naturally squeezed juices without additives.

(Photo by Dan McKay via Flickr Creative Commons)