Research from the University of Warwick has found that higher fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with better mental wellbeing. In a survey of 13 983 adults in England, looking at factors such as health, obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption, 33% of participants with high mental wellbeing, were found to be eating five or more portions of fruit and vegetables daily. Across the study as a whole, high fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with both high likelihood of good mental wellbeing and reduced likelihood of poor mental wellbeing.
The researchers believe that their findings add to the mounting evidence that fruit and vegetable intake could be a way of enhancing mental wellbeing whilst at the same time preventing heart disease and cancer.
(Major health-related behaviours and mental well-being in the general population: the Health Survey for England. BMJ Open, 19 September 2014. http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/9/e005878.full)