THE ESSENTIAL
- Low consumption of fruits and vegetables increases the risk of suffering from depression.
- Conversely, high intake was associated with decreased depression symptoms over time, according to one study.
- According to the WHO, you should eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
What if depression was linked to what we eat? In any case, this is what reveals a new study carried out on twins, who therefore have the same genetic heritage, by researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), in Australia. Their work was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Depression linked to low consumption of fruits and vegetables
“Twins share 50-100% of their genetic makeup, and when raised together, they have the same home environment, says Dr. Karen Mather, one of the authors, in a communiqué. [Cela] may help address the problem of undesirable factors, such as socioeconomic status early in life, influencing outcomes.”
For eleven years, scientists studied the consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as the depressive symptoms of 3,483 twins from Australia, Denmark, Sweden and the United States. At the start of the study, they had to be at least 45 years old. On average, researchers set low fruit and vegetable intake at, respectively, 0.3 and 0.5 servings per day. Conversely, an individual had a high daily intake of 2.1 servings for fruits and 2 servings for vegetables.
As a result, researchers observed that low consumption of fruits and vegetables was associated with an increased risk of suffering from depression. Conversely, high intake reduced depression symptoms over time. Among the hypotheses to explain this relationship, they put forward the role of micronutrients, dietary fiber and vitamins.
Eat more fruits and vegetables from the age of 45
“These findings provide an argument [de plus pour promouvoir] consumption of fruits and vegetables among adults over 45 years old, believes Dr. Annabel Matison, who participated in the work.
Note, however, that the high average consumption of fruits and vegetables retained by researchers remains below public health recommendations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)the ideal is set at five servings per day, or approximately 400 to 500 grams daily, since one adult portion is the equivalent of 80 to 100 grams.
