Vegetables: The Key to Mental Health?

Sure we know vegetables make you healthier, but a new study shows that increasing your vegetable consumption may also increase your mental health.

With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.

New research finds that increasing vegetable consumption has a positive effect on how happy a person feels. USDA’s Agricultural Research Service says that holds true for adults who consume the daily amount of vegetable servings recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Researchers at the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center conducted the eight-week study.

The study divided healthy men and women between 18 and 65 years old into two groups. The first group of participants received daily servings of the recommended number and variety of vegetables based on their energy needs during the course of the study. The second group of participants received the same number of interactions and attention from the researchers while maintaining a diet without adding vegetables.

All participants completed a questionnaire called the Subjective Happiness Scale, or SHS. Researcher Shanon Casperson says, “Results suggest that increasing the amount of vegetables you eat every day may benefit your mental health.”