(RealAge.com) Which nosh makes you happier -- carrot sticks or potato chips? If you want to feel happy for more than a minute, go for the sticks.

Why? Because research shows that the potato chips could be bringing you down. It seems that certain foods may bump up the risk of clinical blues. And junk food and sweets are high on that list, according to a recent study.

In the study, researchers characterized the typical diets of middle-aged volunteers as either "whole food" -- meaning he or she tended to eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and fish -- or as "processed food" -- meaning the study participant favored fried foods, sweets, refined grains, processed meat, and high-fat dairy. For the next 5 years, the researchers tracked the participants to see who became depressed and who didn't. The results? The junk-food junkies were 58 percent more likely to be down in the dumps.

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Community: I can tell you from personal experience that I feel much better since I stopped eating so much animal fat and sugar.

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