Eat your way to health and happiness

The link between eating fruit and vegetables and improved health is well established. But a study has shown that eating your greens can also make you happier.

The study, conducted by the University of Warwick in England in collaboration with the University of Queensland, followed more than 12,000 randomly selected participants by examining their food diaries and measuring their psychological wellbeing.

The researchers found that people who increased their daily fruit and vegetable consumption from almost nothing to eight portions a day tangibly increased their general happiness.

“This research has found that happiness increases incrementally for every extra daily portion of fruit and vegetables, up to a total of eight portions per day,” said AUSVEG spokesperson Shaun Lindhe.

The study is one of the first major scientific attempts to explore the impact of fresh fruit and vegetables on psychological wellbeing.

“Previous research has found that the long-term physical benefits of eating fresh vegetables aren’t necessarily enough to motivate consumers to increase their consumption, even when these benefits are widely known and understood,” said Lindhe. “Hopefully, the industry will be able to use these findings to communicate the full range of benefits that vegetables can offer consumers, from physical health to mental health.”