Frequency of fruit consumption was associated with greater positive mental wellbeing and fewer reports of depression symptoms, compared to people according to research published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Researchers from the College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University surveyed 428 adults across the UK and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweet and savory food snacks and their psychological health.

The researchers’ findings suggest that how often people eat fruit is more important to psychological health than the total amount consumed during a typical week.

The team also found that people who eat savory snacks such as crisps/chips, which are low in nutrients, are more likely to report greater levels of anxiety.   

After taking demographic and lifestyle factors such as age, general health and exercise into account, the research found that both nutrient-rich fruit and nutrient-poor savory snacks appeared to be linked to psychological health. They also found that there was no direct association between eating vegetables and psychological health.

Based on the survey, the more often people ate fruit, the lower they scored for depression and the higher for mental wellbeing, independent of the overall quantity of fruit intake.

People who frequently snacked on nutrient-poor savory foods were more likely to experience “everyday mental lapses” (known as subjective cognitive failures) and report lower mental wellbeing. A greater number of lapses, was associated with higher reported symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression, and lower mental wellbeing scores.

Examples of these frustrating little everyday mental lapses included forgetting where items had been placed, forgetting the purpose of going into certain rooms, and being unable to retrieve names of acquaintances.

“Very little is known about how diet may affect mental health and wellbeing, and while we did not directly examine causality here, our findings could suggest that frequently snacking on nutrient-poor savory foods may increase everyday mental lapses, which in turn reduces psychological health,” said lead author, PhD student Nicola-Jayne Tuck.

“Other studies have found an association between fruit and vegetables and mental health, but few have looked at fruit and vegetables separately—and even fewer evaluate both frequency and quantity of intake.”

Fruit and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, fiber and essential micronutrients, which Tuck noted can promote optimal brain function, but these nutrients can be lost during cooking. “As we are more likely to eat fruit raw, this could potentially explain its stronger influence on our psychological health.”