'An Apple a Day' Keeps the Psychiatrist Away

You all know the saying that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away", however, according to a study, conducted in 2012, and reported in the Science World Report on July 11, 2013, involving 80,000 participants,   researchers found that happiness and strong mental health may actually be higher in those who consume daily portions of fruits and veggies. In fact, the study showed that higher levels of happiness and better health actually stemmed from daily portions of fruit and vegetable intake.

They also found that well-being can come from seven portions of fruit and vegetables a day, at approximately 80 g (2.8 ounces) per serving. According to background information from the study, researchers used seven different measures to record a sense of well-being and purposely made the sample size very large so that they could determine adequate demographic, social and economic variables.

The results showed amazing benefits for fruits and veggies, many of which are high in antioxidants, proteins, and offer other incredible nutritional benefits that will be expounded in future posts in this blog.

The authors of the study also claim that little has been done before about the benefits of fruits and vegetables and it's relationship to mental health, the importance of which is also finally becoming increasingly recognized by professionals and hopefully politicians and the public at large.  Improved diet, combined with regular and proper exercise will undoubtedly go a long way toward reducing the need for expensive psychiatric care.   As stated in another axiomatic quotation:  "prevention is better than cure."