Story at a glance
- Researchers from Aston University in the U.K. found that the frequency in which people consume fruit each week is more important than the total weekly amount.
- The more often participants ate fruit, the lower they scored for symptoms of depression.
- They found no direct link between eating more vegetables and mental health.
Eating fruit more often could ward off symptoms of depression and improve overall mental well-being, a new study suggests.
The study, published in the British Journal of Medicine, surveyed 428 adults from across the U.K. to measure the link between certain aspects of a person’s diet and their mental health.
Researchers from Aston University in the U.K. found that the frequency in which people consume fruit each week is more important than the total weekly amount. And the more often participants ate fruit, the lower they scored for symptoms of depression.
But they found no direct link between eating more vegetables and mental health.
They further concluded that people who consume more savory foods that are low in nutrients are more likely to report greater levels of anxiety and experience “everyday mental lapses.”
Yet the team found no link between these memory lapses and consumption of fruits and vegetables.
“Very little is known about how diet may affect mental health and wellbeing, and while we did not directly examine causality here, our findings could suggest that frequently snacking on nutrient-poor savory foods may increase everyday mental lapses, which in turn reduces psychological health,” lead author Nicola-Jayne Tuck said in a news release.
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Tuck said the team’s research adds to previous studies, which did not evaluate the impact of fruits and vegetables on one’s mental health separately.
“Both fruit and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, fiber and essential micronutrients which promote optimal brain function, but these nutrients can be lost during cooking, Tuck continued. “As we are more likely to eat fruit raw, this could potentially explain its stronger influence on our psychological health.”
“It is possible that changing what we snack on could be a really simple and easy way to improve our mental wellbeing,” Tuck said.
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