THE WONDERS OF FRESH FRUIT AND VEG FOR MENTAL WELLBEING

Fresh Fruit & Veg For Mental Wellbeing

Incorporating fresh fruit and veg into your diet is an essential part of living a healthy lifestyle, and comes with all manner of benefits and positive effects. Anyone who eats healthy can attest to this. Dieticians, health practitioners, and other experts have promoted fruit and vegetables in healthy diets for years to aid in overall physical health, but the benefits don’t stop there. Recent studies have shown that eating consistent, healthy doses of fruit and vegetables does wonders for your mental health as well, helping to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. 

And with our modern lives as stressful as they are, it’s important to destress and care for your mental health. Depression and anxiety are at an all-time high, and it’s advisable to do what we can to care for our mental wellbeing. A healthy mind leads to a healthy body and vice versa, and with the help of fresh produce and healthy eating, it’s just that much easier to care for yourself.

WHAT HAVE STUDIES SHOWN US ​

The study found that there was a correlation to the mental health of the participants and how much fruit and veg they ate a day, while also taking into account things like social, economic, health, and nutrition-related factors. 
  
Interestingly, the participants who ate less than three servings of fresh fruit and vegetables a day were 29% more at risk of suffering from anxiety or depression. A prior study found that those who ate 7 or more portions of fruit and veg a day were happier overall.

The effect isn’t small either. A report done at the University of Warwick found that eating 7 to 8 servings of fruits and vegetables a day creates a powerful boost in mental wellbeing. This significantly reduces the risk of chronic depression and anxiety, even in those dealing with unemployment. Unemployment has been proven to cause some serious psychological effects, but by increasing your intake of fruit and vegetables you can reduce your risk of mental illness by half.

And the positive benefits of eating more fresh produce is fast-acting too. While the long-lasting physical and immunological benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables present themselves more obviously by the time you reach 60, studies show that within 24 months you can experience the benefits of eating more greenery. 

What Else Do We Know About Healthy Eating & Mental

We can correlate the boost in mental wellbeing to the many nutrients and minerals found in fresh fruit and veg, but it almost certainly goes beyond that as well.

A healthy lifestyle consists of many factors, such as increasing your intake of water, smaller portion sizes, eating more portions of fruit and vegetables throughout the day, and introducing an exercise routine into your schedule. Being healthy goes a long way to improving your emotional and mental wellbeing, and there is a clear link between a healthy lifestyle and improved mental stability and invigoration.

Eating more fruit and veg also means we consume less sugar, processed foods, and fast food. Studies have shown that a diet of unhealthy foods tends to contribute to depression, anxiety, lethargy, and even bipolar disorder, and this is regardless of personal characteristics such as gender, education, age, marital status, and income level.

KEEP UP WITH HEALTHY EATING BY BUYING FRESH FRUIT & VEG ONLINE

Maintaining a diet of at least 3 to 7 portions of fresh produce a day means you have to keep a sizable stock of fresh vegetables and fruit at home. But while that supply tends to run out rather quickly, bulk stocking on fruit and vegetables is a poor decision, as natural fruit and vegetables don’t last nearly as long as processed foods. It’s best to eat your produce fresh and keep a supply on hand by buying fresh fruit and vegetables online from Raw Nutrition. It’s quick, easy, and gets delivered right to your doorstep.