those people they eat fruit People who are often more likely to report more positive mental well-being and less likely to report symptoms of depression than those who don’t, according to new research from Aston University’s School of Health and Life Sciences (United Kingdom). don’t do that.
The results, published in the scientific journal British Journal of Nutritionsuggest that how often we eat fruit is more important to our psychological health than the total amount we consume during a typical week.
The team also found that people who ate salty snacks like potato chips, which were low in nutrients, were more likely to have higher anxiety levels.
The study surveyed 428 adults across the UK and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruits, vegetables and sweet and salty snacks, and your psychological health.
Taking into account demographic and lifestyle factors such as age, general health status and physical activity, the research found that nutrient-dense fruits and nutrient-poor salty snacks are associated with increased psychological health. They also found that there was no direct link between vegetable consumption and psychological health.
According to the survey, the more often the fruit was eaten, the lower the depression score and the higher the mental health score, regardless of the total amount of fruit consumed.
People who frequently ate nutrient-poor salty foods (such as french fries) were more likely to suffer from “everyday mental lapses” (known as subjective cognitive failures) and to report less mental well-being. . A higher number of omissions was associated with a higher number of symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression, and with lower mental well-being scores.
In contrast, no association was observed between these everyday memory deficits and consumption of fruits and vegetables or sweet snacks, suggesting a unique association between these nutrient-rich salty snacks, everyday mental lapses, and psychological health. Is.
Some examples of these frustrating everyday mental lapses were forgetting where objects were placed, forgetting the purpose of entering certain rooms, and being unable to retrieve the names of acquaintances whose names were on the “tip of the tongue.” .
“Little is known about how diet may affect mental health and well-being, and although we do not directly examine causality here, our results may suggest that nutrient-poor , Frequent snacking on salty foods can increase everyday mental lapses, in which TURN impairs psychological health,” explains lead author, doctoral student Nicola-Jayne Tuck.
Other studies have found links between fruits and vegetables and mental health, But some have analyzed fruits and vegetables separately.And even less so assess both the frequency and quantity of intake.
Both fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, fiber and essential micronutrients that support optimal brain function, but these nutrients can be lost during cooking. As we are more likely to eat raw fruit, this may explain its greater impact on our psychological health.
