Eating five portions of fruit and veg a day is also good for the BRAIN and helps prevent depression

Daily Mail | September 24, 2014

Five daily portions of fruit and vegetables won't just help stave off disease - they could also keep the blues away. A new study has found a person's mental well-being may be closely linked to how much fresh produce they eat.

Mental well-being was was defined as a state in which people feel good and function well, the researchers said. Optimism, happiness, self-esteem, resilience and good relationships with others are all part of this state, they added.

More than a third of people with good mental well-being ate five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day, compared with only 6.8 per cent who ate less than one portion.

A further 31 per cent of those with high mental well-being ate three to four portions and 28 per cent ate one to two portions. Previous research has shown that eating plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables helps prevent people from developing more than one chronic disease.

Chronic diseases include high blood pressure, very high cholesterol, diabetes, arthritis, hepatitis, heart disease, asthma, stroke and cancer.

The study - carried out by Warwick University's medical school - used figures from the Health Survey for England. It found the effect on mental well-being from eating more fruit and vegetables was found in both men and women.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2768091/Eating-five-portions-fruit-veg-day-good-BRAIN-helps-prevent-depression.html#ixzz3EHwHmuCH