EATING FRUIT AND VEGGIE BOOSTS YOUR MOOD

There are lots of good reasons to eat more fruits and vegetables. They’re low in calories and rich in all the good things your body needs – vitamins, minerals and cell-protective antioxidants. Not to mention they contain a wealth of phytochemicals that could lower your risk for diseases like cancer – but what can they do for your mental outlook? Plenty, according to the results of a new study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology.

A team from the psychology department at the University of Otago in New Zealand asked 281 young people to complete a 21-day online food diary. Partecipants were asked to report the number of servings eaten of fruit (excluding fruit juice and dried fruit), vegetables (excluding juices), and several categories of unhealthy foods like biscuits/cookies, potato chips and cakes and muffins.
Researcher Caroline Horwath said the results showed a strong day-to-day relationship between more positive mood and higher fruit and vegetable consumption, but not other foods. "On days when people ate more fruits and vegetables, they reported feeling calmer, happier and more energetic than they normally did.''

To understand which comes first - feeling positive or eating healthier foods - Dr Conner and her team ran additional analyses and found that eating fruits and vegetables predicted improvements in positive mood the next day, suggesting that healthy foods may improve mood. These findings held regardless of the body mass index of the individuals.

"After further analysis we demonstrated that young people would need to consume approximately seven to eight total servings of fruits and vegetables per day to notice a meaningful positive change. "One serving of fruit or vegetables is approximately the size that could fit in your palm, or half a cup.'' Dr Conner said to get the amount needed to increase positivity, people should make half their plate at each meal vegetables and snack on whole fruit, like apples, during the day.

There are a few possible explanations for this: studies have tied several vitamins and antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables—including folate and flavonols—to improved mood, Conner explains. “These foods also contain complex carbohydrates, which may increase concentrations of brain serotonin,” she adds. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter research that’s been linked to feelings of well-being and happiness. Dr Conner added: ‘While this research shows a promising connection between healthy foods and healthy moods, further research is necessary such as the development of randomised control trials evaluating the influence of high fruit and vegetable intake on mood and well-being.’

This isn’t the first study to show a link between produce consumption and mood.
In a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers measured nine types of antioxidants in the blood of 982 adults. The results: people who were more optimistic about their future had up to 13% higher carotenoid concentrations compared to more negative types. In fact, 67% of highly optimistic people ate at least three servings of produce per day. This isn’t necessarily a cause and effect: it could simply be that optimistic people have healthier habits (like eating more vegetables and smoking less), and are also better equipped to deal with challenges and manage stress. “Optimists tend to persist at their goals and use effective coping strategies, all of which may contribute to the fact that they tend to eat more fruits and vegetables,” says study co-author Julia Boehm, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Researchers also speculate that psychological wellbeing may somehow encourage better antioxidant absorption in the body. And even if the link is just a correlation, there’s no disputing the benefits of antioxidants like carotenoids: they neutralize free radicals, which are molecules that damage cells, contribute to inflammation, and are associated with diseases like cancer and diabetes.

Carotenoids are found in green vegetables such as kale and spinach and in orange foods like sweet potatoes and carrots. The best known carotenoid is beta-carotene, abundant in carrots.

Still another study showed that happiness and mental health are highest among people who eat seven portions of fruits and vegetables per day. Again, the magic number seems to be 7 or more servings of veggies and fruits a day to get the benefits.
To gain this insight, researchers and economists from the University of Warwick in the UK, in conjunction with Dartmouth College in the US, studied the eating habits of 80,000 adults living in Britain. Researchers looked at three studies and discovered that the well-being score for people who ate seven to eight servings of vegetables and fruits per day was consistently three points higher than for those who ate little or none. Researchers pointed out that the happiness gap between the two groups was “notably large,” outweighing even the factor of unemployment. The study indicates a “strong positive” correlation.

So the next time you’re grocery shopping, throw some carrots, pumpkin, all the fruit and veggie you like most into your shopping basket. You just may find that you’re waking up on the right side of the bed a little more often.

Sources: http://www.nydailynews.com/, http://www.charismamag.com/