I preface this article with the confession that I am no role model for the healthy lifestyle. I do not exercise as much as I should, I work very odd hours, I spend too long in the car and, perhaps most importantly, I don’t eat my greens.
But this is to be a matter of do as I say, not do as I do.
There is a really interesting study undertaken at the University of Warwick in the UK that has just been published in the online version of the British Medical Journal, BMJ Open. Basically, it correlates mental well-being with your consumption of fruit and vegetables; the more greens you eat, the better you feel.
“… the higher an individual’s fruit and vegetable intake the lower the chance of their having low mental wellbeing,” as lead author Dr Saverio Stranges put it.
The raw data, if you’ll pardon the pun, shows that, of the 14,000 English people studied in the survey, 34 per cent who reported a high mental wellbeing said they ate five or more serves of fruit and vegetables a day, 31 per cent ate between three and four portions, 28 per cent ate between one and two, and only seven per cent of those with a high mental wellbeing ate less than one portion.
(That means, of course, that I am the exception that proves the rule).
“Good mental wellbeing” was defined as feeling good and functioning well; people said they felt happy and optimistic, had good self esteem, resilience and relationships.
Australia pays a high price in both social and economic terms for the state of the nation’s corporate mental health. Just in the farming sector, through such organisations as Rural Alive and Well, we know the extent of the problem and we know many of the causes.
Farming can be a stressful existence when you are not in full control of your destiny. Problems with the business are usually mid to long term and they require a certain resilience in order to cope. Any advice to help cope is useful.
The authors noted:
“This is not the first study to draw attention to a relationship between mental health and fruit and vegetable consumption. For example, one recent study showed positive effect to be predictable on the basis of the current and previous days’ fruit and vegetable consumption; likewise, nine different antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables have been shown in another study to be associated with optimism in middle-aged adults.
“We were only able to examine fruit and vegetable consumption up to five portions a day, but other studies have shown a dose–response relationship between mental and physical health up to seven portions a day…
“Our finding is, of course, in line with a large body of epidemiological and trial evidence on the beneficial role of fruit and vegetable intake in general well-being and prevention of major chronic disease across several populations and age groups.”
This is a really interesting study and bears some replication here. The Menzies Research Institute in Tasmania makes special studies of health issues facing our population. One of the main factors in our favour is the stable nature of the population (and the fact we are locked in together here). Perhaps some investigation into the link between food and mental well-being in the Tasmanian context could be on their agenda one day.
Research indicates that adults need to eat at least 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegies each day. Surveys have shown that most Australians eat only half the amount of fruit and vegies recommended for good health. In parts of Tasmania, there are issues with access to fresh food which means that people in those areas are below even the national average.
As an aside, I have struggled to understand how this can be, as we grow so many wonderful fresh and healthy vegetables and fruit. I am told that access is an issue of price, rather than availability. I guess that makes more sense but, in my view, this is another area which needs some in-depth analysis.
Some years ago, state and federal governments invested significantly in the ‘Go for 2 & 5’ campaign. The time is ripe for our state government to revisit this very successful program to help improve unacceptably poor health standards. This will result in better overall community health and well-being outcomes.
In the meantime, it’s easy to find ways to get some extra fruit and vegies in your day. So don’t do as I do, do as I say. Do yourself a favour, while also supporting those who produce the fruit and vegies that should be on your plate, your local farmers.
The study can be found here:
http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/9/e005878.full?sid=900dbf71-674e-4fc6-82b2-f1528bd33ee9
TFGA chief executive Jan Davis
