Scientists have established that eating more fruits and vegetables is good for physical health. However, a new study claims that eating fruits and vegetables also boosts mental health of an individual.
Researchers from the Medical School at the University of Warwick reveal that they have found that a person's low or high mental wellbeing is associated with the amount of fruits and vegetables consumed.
The researchers used data collected from the Health Survey for England, which included 14,000 participants. All the participants were 16 years or over. The sample constituted 56 percent females and 44 percent of the participants were male.
Dr. Saverio Stranges, lead author of the study revealed that 33.5 percent of the participants, who had high mental wellbeing, ate at least five portions of vegetables and fruits each day, when compared to just 6.8 percent participants who ate one portion or less.
The researchers found that 31.4 percent of the high mental wellbeing participants ate three to four portions and about 28.4 percent of those ate one or two portions of vegetables and fruits per day.
"These novel findings suggest that fruit and vegetable intake may play a potential role as a driver, not just of physical, but also of mental wellbeing in the general population," per Dr. Stranges.
A person with low mental wellbeing may also face stress, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, grief and addiction. Mental health problems can also lead to the development of other health issues. In some cases of depression, a person may also get inclined to commit suicide.
On the other hand, high mental wellbeing results in a person to be optimistic and happy. They tend to have good relationship with others and have high self-esteem.
Professor Sarah Stewart-Brown, co-author of the study, suggests that mental illness can be costly to individual as well as to the society. Stewart-Brown indicates that mental wellbeing also supports physical diseases, social habits and lifestyle. A person with low mental wellbeing may suffer from diseases and become less socially active.
The researchers suggest that mental wellbeing can also help in the prevention of some of the major diseases such as cancer and heart problems.
The authors of the study suggest that their findings are important as it will encourage people to include more fruits and vegetables in their diet to keep themselves physically healthy and at the same time improve their mental wellbeing.
