Evolution of Well-Being and Happiness After Increases in Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables

· 20 Oct 2022

Did you know that there is a correlation between increased consumption of fruit and vegetables with enhanced wellbeing and happiness?

It may not seem like mood and food have a correlation. After all, mood is mental and food is physical, but research is showing that what you eat has a direct impact on how you feel emotionally.

In a study conducted by the American Journal of Public Health, the longitudinal food diaries of 12,385 randomly sampled Australian adults over 2007, 2009 and 2013 were tracked and taken note to see any common correlations. There results were that increased intakes of fruit and vegetables contributed to an increase in happiness, life satisfaction and wellbeing.

However, knowing this, there is still action to be implemented. People’s motivation to eat healthy foods is weakened by the fact that physical health benefits take a while to manifest. But the wellbeing and mental feelings of increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables are almost immediate.

We all have experienced the feeling of consuming a heavy meal and then feeling bloated a few hours later. Maybe you even had mood swings, felt fatigued and tired or just simply didn’t have the energy to do anything. There is a reason for this! The body’s mood neurotransmitter, serotonin, which are chemical messengers in your body are produced in the gut microbiome. With 95% of the serotonin produced in the gut, it is safe to say that mood is influenced heavily by what you eat. To have a healthy gut microbiome with a broad range of fruits, vegetables and healthy whole foods is essential to creating a strong and stable microbiome, which will result in feelings of lightness and overall a better mood.

So what can you do to enhance your mood? There are, of course, many ways you could go about answering the question based on your lifestyle and current point in life. One such answer is to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables. Anything within the category is great, but some good options include dark leafy greens, such as kale, collard greens, lettuce and spinach. For fruits you can try bananas, blueberries, raspberries, oranges, mangoes and avocados. The list is endless and we encourage you to explore all the options out there.