Eating fruits and vegetable could very good for you mentally, as well as physically. There are many benefits of eating fruits and vegetables that have been cleary shown in research, such as lowering cardiovascular disease risk and lowering the risk of many cancers. Now, newly published research that investigated “mental well being”, found that high mental well being was associated with high fruit and vegetable intake and low mental being was associated with very low dietary intake.
This study published in the British Medical Journal used data from a nationwide study called the Health Survey for England. Lifestyle questions were used to assess dietary habits of the nation and its health effects. When it comes to eating fruits and vegetables what the data showed was that 33.5% of respondents with high mental wellbeing ate five or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day, compared with only 6.8% who ate less than one portion.
Lead researcher Dr Saverio Stranges said, “The data suggest that the higher an individual’s fruit and vegetable intake the lower the chance of their having low mental wellbeing. Along with smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption was the health-related behaviour most consistently associated with both low and high mental wellbeing.” Explaining the use of the term “mental well being’ Dr Stranfes says, “high mental wellbeing is more than the absence of symptoms or illness; it is a state in which people feel good and function well. Optimism, happiness, self-esteem, resilience and good relationships with others are all part of this state. Our findings add to the mounting evidence that with fruit and vegetable intake … people are likely to be able to enhance their mental wellbeing at the same time as preventing heart disease and cancer.”
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