Two Additional Servings of Fruits & Vegetables can Improve Mental Health

Highlights

Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption may improve psychological well-being in two weeks.
A healthy diet should constitute of two cups of fruits and about three cups of vegetables daily.
Following a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle habits could help you stay mentally fit and free from depression.
Young adults who were given extra fruits and vegetables each day for 14 days ate more of the produce and experienced a boost in motivation and vitality.

In today’s world, with alarming rise in cases of depression, anxiety and stress, it is important to talk more about mental health to spread awareness, as well as take effective measures to keep the mind healthy too. And it all starts with following a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle habits.

A healthy diet can prevent many ailments such as the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer. The regular consumption of fruits and vegetables particularly are also beneficial for our mental health.

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‘A healthy diet should constitute of two cups of fruits and about three cups of vegetables daily. Regular consumption of fruits and vegetables particularly are beneficial for our mental health.’

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A new research done by the Department of Psychology at University of Otago in New Zealand found that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption may improve psychological well-being in as little as 2 weeks.

For their study, Conner and team enrolled 171 students aged between 18 and 25 for their study, and they were divided into three groups for 2 weeks. One group continued with their normal eating pattern, one was personally handed two additional servings of fresh fruits and vegetables (including carrots, kiwi fruit, apples, and oranges) each day, while the remaining group was given prepaid produce vouchers and received text reminders to consume more fruits and vegetables.

Participants were subjected to psychological assessments that evaluated mood, vitality, motivation, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and other determinants of mental health and well-being.

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The researchers found that participants who personally received extra fruits and vegetables consumed the most of these products over the 2 weeks, at 3.7 servings daily, and it was this group that experienced improvements in psychological well-being. In particular, these participants demonstrated improvements in vitality, motivation, and flourishing.

Lead researcher Dr. Tamlin Conner and his team found that young adults who were given extra fruits and vegetables each day for 14 days ate more of the produce and experienced a boost in motivation and vitality.

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According to leading health experts, a healthy diet should constitute of two cups of fruits and about three cups of vegetables daily.

Furthermore, no improvements were seen in symptoms of depression and anxiety in any of the groups. "The majority of research linking depression to dietary patterns has been longitudinal, meaning that possible differences in ill-being may be established over a much longer period of time rather than our brief 2-week period," note the authors.

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Source-Medindia