A randomized controlled test investigates nutrition and psychological well -being.
“Psychological health box To be widely regarded as 2 basic ingredients: mental health (that is, in the presence of absence of mental health disorders such as depression) and psychological prosperity (that is, a positive psychological state, which is more than the absence of mental health disorder “and this is The focus of a “emerging field of positive psychology [that] It focuses on the positive events of life, including happiness, satisfaction of life, personal forces and flourishing. “This can be translated into natural” benefits from enhanced prosperity, including improvements to blood pressure, immune capacity, longevity, career success and personal relationship satisfaction “.
What is “the contribution of food consumption to prosperity”, the title of an article in Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism; Studies have “linked the consumption of fruits and vegetables with improved well -being”. A systematic review of the survey establish Evidence that the intake of fruits and vegetables “was associated with increased psychological prosperity”. Only a compound?
There is “A famous criticism in this area of ​​research-that is, that personality or family upbringing can lead people to eat at the same time healthy and also have better mental well-being, so that nutrition is simply associated with, but incorrectly gives the appearance to help. However, recent research bypasses this problem by examining whether “changes in diet are associated with changes in mental well-being”-to result, study The “evolution of prosperity and happiness after increases in the consumption of fruits and vegetables”. As you can see below and at 1:37 in my video Fruits and vegetables are tested to enhance moodAs people started conflict More fruits and vegetables, there has been a direct increase in changing their life’s satisfaction over time.
“Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables was predicted for increased happiness, life satisfaction and prosperity. (My daily recommendation is for at least nine portions of fruits and vegetables a day.)
This study was done in Australia. Were successive In the United Kingdom and researchers have found the same results, although the British may need to hit their daily minimal consumption of fruits and vegetables in more like 10 or 11 servings a day.
As researchers asked In the title of their paper, “does the consumption of fruits and vegetables also reduce the longitudinal risk of depression and anxiety?” Improved prosperity is fine, but “governments and medical authorities are often interested in the decisive factors of major mental poor health conditions, such as depression and high levels of anxiety and not just at a more typical level of prosperity of the citizen”-for example, not only. And, indeed, using the same set of data, but in search of mental illnesses, the researchers found that “eating fruits and vegetables can help protect against the future risk of clinical depression and anxiety”, too.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of dozens of studies establish “A reverse linear correlation between the intake of fruits or vegetables and the risk of depression, so that each 100 grams of increased fruit intake is associated with a reduced risk of depression 3%”, about half an apple. However, “less than 10% of most western populations consume Adequate levels of whole fruits and dietary fibers, with a typical intake of about half of the recommended levels. “Maybe the problem is that we are fair effective People about the long -term benefits of taking fruit to prevent chronic diseases and not almost unspecified improvements in prosperity. Maybe we should advertise the “happiness” profits. “Maybe, but first we have to make sure they are real.
We were speech About the associations. Yes, “a healthy diet can reduce the risk of future depression or anxiety, but the diagnosis of depression or anxiety today could also lead to lower intake of fruits and vegetables in the future.” Now, in these studies, we can indeed demonstration That the increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables came first and not the reverse, but as the great philosopher of the Enlightenment David Hume sharp Outside, just because the rooster of the crows before dawn does not mean that the rooster caused the sun to get up.
To prove the cause and the result, must put in a test with an invasive study. Unfortunately, to date, many studies have compared fruit to chocolate and chips, for example. Indeed, study participants randomized to eat fruits showed significant improvements in anxiety, depression, fatigue and emotional discomfort, which is amazing, but this was compared to chocolate and potato chips, as you can see below at 4:26 video. Apples, Climicals and bananas that make people feel better than different crisps and chocolate chocolate tiles are not exactly a revelation.
This is the type of study I was waiting for: A randomized controlled test in which young adults were randomized In one of the three groups of a diet group as ordinary, a group that is encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables or a third group that gave two servings of fruits and vegetables a day to eat in addition to their normal diet. Those in the third group “showed improvements in their psychological prosperity with increases in vitality, flourishing and incentives” in just two weeks. However, simple training of people to eat their fruits and vegetables may not be enough to get complete rewards, so maybe more emphasis on supply to people with fresh products – for example, offering free fruits for people when shopping. I know it would definitely make me happy!
