(The Gist of Science Reporter) Does Eating Fruit and Veg Help Your Mental Health?

[SEPTEMBER-2019]

INCREASING the amount of fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of clinical depression, new research has found. The study discovered that eating, for example, four extra portions of fruits and vegetables a day can boost people’s mental health to such an extent that it can offset half the negative psychological impact of divorce and a quarter of the psychological damage of unemployment.
Other studies have used people’s subjective responses to surveys to discover a link between eating fruits and vegetables with improved wellbeing. But this is one of only a few studies that have found objective evidence of the association between fruits and vegetables and psychological health.
Dr Redzo Mujcic, author of the paper alongside Professor Andrew Oswald, of the University of Warwick, said: “The effect is not small. If people eat around seven or eight portions of fruits and vegetables a day the boost in mental wellbeing is as strong as divorce pushing people the other way, to a depressed state.
“We found being made unemployed had a very bad and significant effect on people's mental health, greatly increasing the risk of depression and anxiety. But eating seven or eight portions of fruits and vegetables a day can reduce that by half. “And the effect is a lot quicker than the physical improvements you see from a healthy diet. The mental gains occur within 24 months, whereas physical gains don’t occur until you are in your 60s.