Consumption of Processed Meat Can Impact on Mental and Psychological Disorders

Today, the choice of people's consumption of processed meat has varied greatly. This is also supported by the ease of culinary acculturation that enters Indonesia. Starting from home cooking such as sausages, corned beef, nuggets to the popularity of hamburgers in fast food restaurants, middle east style kebabs, typicalwestern country steak beaf and others. Almost all of these delicious menus can be found easily in restaurants, food stalls, or roadside shops.

As connoisseurs of these dishes, it's good we also know the content and effects of processed meat. Basically, processed meat is meat that has been modified either to improve taste or to extend the expiration date. Fresh meat processing methods can be in the form of salting, roasting, fermentation, smoking and burning. One ingredient that needs to be considered in processed meat is a chemical compound called nitrate. These chemical compounds are often added to meat recipes to prevent the growth of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum [1].

Let's review a little about the relationship between meat and nitrate, actually meat is a food ingredient that is not good enough to be stored for a long time and easily damaged. This deficiency makes the ability of nitrate is very needed as a meat preservative, prevents microbial growth, and also to get red on the meat to look fresh. Nitrates are compounds with ions which consist of one nitrogen and three oxygen atoms (NO 3 - ).Nitrates can also be found in plants / vegetables where these compounds help photosynthesis. Unfortunately, Nitrates also have a negative side that can cause cancer in animals. Therefore, it is not recommended for infants under one year to consume foods containing Nitrate compounds [2].

On the other hand, there are recent studies that suggest that the content in processed meat can stimulate the human brain to enter the Mania condition. The condition of mania is a condition that can trigger a variety of mental and mental disorders such as bipolar, hyperactivity, and insomnia. The study was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry on July 18, 2018 [5]. Researchers in the study found that consuming meat containing nitrates increased hyperactivity in humans and became a cause of bipolar disorder. On a more serious level, the condition of mania can have an impact on severe mental health conditions and accelerate death. Surely this is quite surprising, when the trend of consuming processed meat is increasing in the community, but it turns out to be one of the triggers for behavior change.

"There is some evidence that bacteria in the intestine can affect the brain," said another researcher, Dr.Robert Yolken, Professor of child health neurovirology at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. Dr. Robert and his colleagues analyzed data from more than a thousand people with and without psychiatric problems.The research team found that patients with mania condition consumed 3.5 times more nitrate-containing meat than those who did not have a serious psychiatric disorder.

When connected with nitrates, not only nitrate is the sole cause of the condition of mania. So consuming processed meat occasionally will not trigger the cause of mania. "Both genetic and environmental factors have the possibility of the emergence of mania conditions". "Our experimental results show that processed meat with nitrate can act as an environmental aspect that triggers mania abnormalities". It was stated by Seva Khambadkone, a researcher in processed meat and the nature of mania from John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. [3]

The condition of mania can trigger other conditions called depression, so the combination of mania and depression is called bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a unique disorder, where sufferers experience brain disorders that cause unusual changes in mood, energy, level of activity and ability to complete daily tasks.When in a condition of mania, the sufferer will have great energy, always increasing the level of activity, more active than usual, talking quickly, easily disturbed, instigated, experiencing sleep disturbances, and tend to take dangerous risks. Whereas when in a state of depression, people with bipolar disorder tend to feel sad, empty, hopeless, they cannot enjoy anything, have less energy, quickly forget something, have trouble sleeping or eating; namely too little or excessive.

Causative factor 

Several factors have actually been investigated by scientists about the causes of bipolar disorder. Most researchers agree that bipolar disorder is not caused by a single factor. Here are some of these factors; 

• Brain function and structure: research on the brain reports that the brain structure of bipolar sufferers is different from that of healthy people. 

• Genetic factors: some research reports that people with certain genes are susceptible to bipolar disorder. 

• Family history: children with parents or relatives who have bipolar disorder are more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder than children who have normal family records.

Diagnosis
Actually there are diagnoses and help treat patients with bipolar disorder that can lead them to a healthy and productive life. Consulting doctors and other health experts is the first step that can be done. A doctor can complete a physical examination to check the patient's condition. If there are no diseased organs, the doctor will conduct a mental health evaluation or further advise psychiatrists who are experts in diagnosing and treating Bipolar sufferers.

Care and Therapy
When bipolar disorder has been indicated, knowledge of appropriate treatments and therapies is very important. Even if people with severe bipolar disorder, proper treatment and therapy can help control their mood . An effective treatment usually combines drugs and psychotherapy. Because bipolar is a long-term illness, it is necessary to have ongoing care assistance to control these symptoms.

Some types of drugs can be consumed to control bipolar symptoms, such as mood stabilizers, and anti-depressant drugs. Furthermore, the patient must also continue to consult with a doctor or pharmacist about the dosage of drug use, side effects that occur, and are prohibited to stop consuming without the doctor's knowledge. On the other hand, there are several psychotherapies that can support, educate, and guide patients and their families against bipolar disorder. The psychotherapy treatment is; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), therapy with Family approaches, Interpersonal Therapy and Social Rhythm, and psychological education. [4]

Well, that's a brief explanation about the effect of processed meat on the psychological condition in the form of mania conditions. Hopefully after knowing this information, meat enthusiasts prioritize fresh meat compared to processed meat.

Bibliography

[1] Nitrate Compounds in Vegetables and Meat. https://www.ayahbunda.co.id/keluarga-gizi-kesehatan/senyawa-nitrat-dalam-sayur-dan-daging (Accessed on August 7, 2018).
[2] Effects of Nitrates on Health. http://jackapostle.blogspot.com/2011/04/efek-nitrat-untuk-kesehatan.html (Accessed on August 07 2018).
[3] Bipolar Affective Disorder. https://consumer.healthday.com/mental-health-information-25/bipolar-affective-disorder-news-60/nitrates-in-meat-may-be-tied-to-mania-study-735832.html. (Accessed on August 07 2018).
[4] Bipolar Disorder. Https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml. (Accessed on August 07 2018).
[5] Khambadkone, SG, Cordner, ZA, Dickerson, F., Severance, EG, Prandovszky, E., Pletnikov, M., Xiao, J., Li, Y., Boersma, GJ, Talbot, CC and Campbell, WW, 2018. Nitrated meat products are associated with humans in human and altered behavior and brain gene expression in rats. Molecular psychiatry , p.1.

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