The Cure for Depression: Fruits???

Sometimes, it feels as if there’s been a sudden interest in nutrition, physical health, and overall wellness, that took place overnight. From Instagram influencers advertising health drinks, to “What I Eat in a Day” videos trending on YouTube, to fitness trainers sharing their well-guarded secrets, everyone is fascinated with what they can do to lose weight and gain muscle. However, recent studies have shown other important reason to watch our diet – our mental health and cognition.

The link between mental health and diet has been previously explored in the literature. A recent meta-analysis found that an increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is related to a reduced risk of cognitive impairment (e.g., dementia). A diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grain, fish, olive oil and low-fat dairy antioxidants, was associated with a lower risk of depression. However, many studies don’t recognize that consumption of healthy foods co-occurs with an overall healthier lifestyle. In addition, these studies haven’t examined the longitudinal effects of nutrition using a cross-national sample.

A recent study by Kerstin and colleagues aim to address this research gap. They address the question: “Does fruit and vegetable consumption improve overall health in a general, cross-country sample of European older adults?”

In order to answer this question, they recruited 22, 635 participants from 11 countries (namely: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). They were asked to self-rate themselves on their vegetable and fruit consumption, physical activity levels, depression levels (and the effects it has on daily functioning), cognition levels and other health-related behaviours (such as alcohol consumption). Using a statistical analysis method, the effect of each health behaviour on overall mental wellness was measured.

The results showed that when accounting for the covariates of sex, age, education, chronic conditions, smoking status, alcohol consumption and other factors, fruit/vegetable consumption was associated with increased self-rated health, grip strength, quality of life, short/long term memory, and better depression scores. In fact, fruit and vegetable consumption had the strongest associations with these aspects of health, compared to other nutrition variables. However, there was some degree of cross-national difference. The reasons underlying these differences should be explored in further studies.

Eating fruits and vegetables may be a low-cost measure taken to prevent mental health disorders and illnesses, particularly in individuals belonging to the older age range, as explored in this study. Caretakers should also treat the consumption of fruits and vegetables as a primary prevention method, to reduce the chances of developing chronic diseases. Future studies should examine how psychological interventions like biofeedback can help older adults improve their health through nutrition. In addition, future studies should look at whether this relationship between nutrition and mental health can be found in developing countries as well, in which individuals have more exposure to health hazards and greater financial restrictions, which impact their nutritional choices.

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Source:

• Kerstin H. Gehlich, Johannes Beller, Bernhard Lange-Asschenfeldt, Wolfgang Köcher, Martina C. Meinke & Jürgen Lademann (2019). Consumption of fruits and vegetables: improved physical health, mental health, physical functioning and cognitive health in older adults from 11 European countries, Aging & Mental Health, DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2019.1571011