Is Happiness As Close As Our Plate?

The Role of Fruits & Vegetables in Mental Health Research Intensifies

P8300568 by estoril, on Flickr

Crossing the border into the state of bliss can be as elusive as it is subjective. We might find joy in a chocolate cake today and in a visit with an old friend tomorrow. But regardless of the source of our smiles, most of us can agree that happiness is the result of positive feelings – joy, pleasure, satisfaction – and the absence of negative ones – like stress and depression – and it’s something all of us want more of. But in our endless pursuit of positive feelings, we might be overlooking a source of good cheer that’s right in front of us: our daily intake of fruits and vegetables.

Happiness and health have always partnered well. Being and feeling healthy is the essence of well being. So when a recent study indicated that happiness can result from eating 7 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, there was no reason to be taken by surprise.

Or was there? Is the idea that happiness is within our reach (and on our plates) groundbreaking? Or just old news?

The Research

The happiness study in question hinges on research conducted in Britain and slated for publication in Social Indicators Research. As part of the study, men and women ate from 0-8 servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables and reported on things like life satisfaction and feeling “low” as measures of their well being. The researchers found that the participants’ happiness improved the more fruits and veggies they ate, reaching their peak at 7 or 8 servings.

The effect of fruits and vegetables on mood was measurable and significant. And researchers involved in the study suggest a biochemical effect, not a psychological one. We already know that proper nutrition is important in preventing disease and slowing the aging process – but the case for nutritionally-dense food influencing our emotional state is compelling.

Unpacking the Food-Mood Relationship

There is a dearth of research into the effect of fruit and vegetable intake on emotional health. We know a great deal, however, about the relationship between nutritionally dense foods and the brain, a likely locus of happiness. For example:

  • Cups of fruit such as antioxidant-rich berries are known to help keep the mind clear and focused – this may contribute to happiness, or allow us to handle daily stressors better, which increases our happiness quotient.
  • Food can affect blood glucose levels, or trigger food sensitivities which can affect the way we feel, causing feelings of lethargy and illness.
  • Food could affect brain chemistry, too. Some researchers have found that increased levels of depression, anxiety, mood swings, hyperactivity and a wide variety of other mental and emotional problems can be tied to nutrition. (The first trial testing whether a healthy diet can improve the mental health of people with depression is planned by researchers is already in the works).
  • Researchers continue to demonstrate protective effects of phytochemicals (found in high concentrations in wild blueberries) on the brain, and the body of research in the field of neuroscience supporting the benefits foods high in phytos is growing. Recent studies led by Dr. Robert Krikorian at University of Cincinnati, for example, suggest that regular consumption of wild blueberries may slow the loss of cognitive function and decrease depression in the elderly.

While these things contribute to our understanding of the connection between fruits and vegetable and happiness, researchers have yet to fully understand the reason for the results revealed in the Britain study. Until we know more about the impact of fruits and veggies on mood, pleasure, and mental illness, we might be best served to conduct a little research on ourselves.

Forging a Path to Happiness

What is your diet doing (or not doing) for your happiness quotient? It might be time to take a closer look.

Starting a food diary is the best way to research your own food-mood connection. Writing down what you eat will increase your awareness of your food intake and help you discern patterns between diet and things like energy levels, mood and feelings of well being. USDA Dietary Guidelines recommend “filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables at every meal” with the goal of 2 cups of fruit and 3 cups of vegetables, on average, for a total of 5 cups every day. By tracking what you eat every day, you’ll see if you fall short of the USDA recommendations and by how much.

Once you’ve tracked your diet for a week or so, make a change. Start by getting two cups of fruit a day, for example, or eliminate processed foods in favor of a fruit or vegetable. Evaluate the impact of this change on your mood, your sleep, and your stress level. While the kick of endorphins after eating something sugary, salty, or fatty is obvious, we can sometimes miss its cost to our general feelings of happiness and well being.

Get Happy – 5 Ways to Get Your 5

  1. Start small. Starting at zero?  Ease in with ½ cup of fruit, berries, or greens twice a week. Then, move to ½ cup every day. Baby steps make it easier to attain the recommended goal of 2 cups of fruit per day and 5 total cups of fruits and vegetables over the long term.
  • Sneak ’em. If you prefer to sneak fruits and veggies into your diet, kale chips and cauliflower popcorn were invented just for you. While whole fresh or fresh frozen foods are best, moving away from processed snacks in favor of homemade ones is a great way to start the process. Or, give a green smoothie a go for a mega-dose of fruits and vegetables masked as deliciousness.
  • Replace something. Having chips with lunch? Slice some carrots instead. Late-night ice cream a routine? Swap it for a ½ cup of fresh berries.
  • Choose what you like. Keen on tomatoes? Kiwis your weakness? Eating plenty of what you really like makes racking up the cups easy.
  • Bathe your meal in berries. Steven Pratt, author of the groundbreaking book on nutrition, SuperfoodsRx, suggests we “bathe our meals in berries” for optimal nutritional benefit and disease prevention. Berries such as wild blueberries have a high concentration of beneficial phytochemicals, making them more powerful than most other fruits when it comes to disease prevention. Douse a piece of fish with wild blueberry sauce, pair salads with berries, or cover desserts and breakfasts with them – using fresh frozen wild blueberries from the freezer (look for them in the frozen food section) is a convenient way to make them available by the cup at every meal.

A Month of Mood Boosters: Check out our month of ideas for incorporating fruits and vegetables into your meals – one for every day – or get started on your own list. Then, give us a comment that includes your favorite way of getting 5 cups a day. We might include it in an updated Month of Fruits and Veggies post!

Photo courtesy of  Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License  by estoril.


Brain Function Key Topic at ME Research Summit

It’s been called the “brain berry” and the influence it wields on the health of our brains has been dubbed the “blueberry-brain connection.” While this may sound like something from a distant future, it’s not science fiction. There is, however, plenty of science involved. It has to do with the mounting evidence that blueberries, particularly wild blueberries, can protect our brain as we age.

We know cognitive decline is a normal function of aging – and today, 5.4 million Americans are living with severe cognitive impairment in the form of Alzheimer’s disease. The spotlight on brain research is bright, and the work of nutritionists and scientists engaged in research and clinical trials is no small matter: preserving and protecting the brain is central to our well being. While today’s generation, if they are lucky, will boast longevity, it means little if our cognitive skills are compromised and our living experience is colored by poor memory, poor motor skills, and dementia.

The Bar Harbor Group has been a force behind moving research forward when it comes to the impact of a berry-rich diet on disease prevention. This past August, the 15th Annual Wild Blueberry Health Research Summit in Bar Harbor, Maine brought the group together again. Eighteen leading researchers from the US, Canada and England convened to share and discuss current and ongoing blueberry and human health research, and the result was a boon for brain health. Some of the most exciting topics focused on brain health and the promising blueberry-brain connection.

Good Thinking in Bar Harbor

The work of today’s researchers into cognitive health and diet is notable for the participants involved in its studies. First, this year’s Summit members presented ongoing research into the effect of cognitive health and blueberry supplemented diets both in the elderly and in young, healthy subjects. What’s more, while preliminary studies often involve lab animals, many of this year’s studies were clinical trials involving human subjects and real-world human diets. Studies yielding positive results on humans were part of what made 2012 an exciting year for the “brain berry.”

“Bar Harbor Group” members presented research with
promising results in a wide range of health-related fields at the
15th Annual Wild Blueberry Heath Research Summit this past August.

Much of the interest surrounding blueberries is due to their high anthocyanin content. Anthocyanin, found in the deep blue pigments of wild blueberries, is a phytonutrient with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. When we caught up with Dr. Barbara Shukitt-Hale from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University last year, she told us that “berry fruits change the way neurons in the brain communicate.” She explained that they prevent inflammation in the brain, the key to preventing neuron damage that specifically affects cognitive function. This August in Bar Harbor, Shukitt-Hale discussed a new clinical trial, using middle-aged and older subjects, which involves the effects of a diet supplemented with blueberries on memory and motor function.

Another presentation by Dr. Robert Krikorian of the University of Cincinnati’s Cognitive Aging Program included work on blueberry supplementation and its effect on memory, metabolic function, inflammation and brain function in elderly subjects. Krikorian has previously conducted a fascinating study into diets supplemented with wild blueberry juice. (Hear more about his work with these health heroes.) In this previous work, he found that a diet supplemented with up to 21 ounces of blueberry juice per day improved memory over just a 12 week period. His most recent work takes us further toward understanding blueberry supplementation.

Also presenting at the Summit was Dr. Mary Ann Lila, Director of Plants for Human Health Institute at North Carolina State University. When Wild About Health spoke with Lila in 2010, blueberries were at the heart of exciting new research at the Institute, where she cited the blueberry as a “cohesive force” in uniting teams involved in areas as unrelated as genomics and fruit quality. This year, she shared ongoing research about wild blueberry consumption on cognition by measuring results specifically on adults experiencing cognitive decline.

Other brain-related research at the Summit included England’s University of Reading study into blueberry supplementation and cognitive function in young healthy subjects, and another on the impact of blueberries in children.

Feed Your Head

In 2012, already more than 100 new studies in a wide range of areas have been published on the blueberry’s potential benefits to human health. We have researchers like the members of the Bar Harbor Group to thank for helping piece together the mysteries of this small, nutrient-dense fruit and its effect on brain performance. The more we know about the advantages of the wild blueberry, the more it should have us thinking – about how to make them a part of our own long, healthy life.

Learn More: In addition to cognitive research, Summit member reports include work on diabetes, heart disease, and eye health.  Read more about research presented at the Bar Harbor Summit.

You can also find out about a brain health study called the “Nurses Study” and why it could be important for you.