Eating This Many Fruits & Veggies A Day May Lower Stress Levels, Study Suggests
There are plenty of tools we can turn to for help managing stress: meditation, journaling, talking to a therapist, etc. Now, according to new research, you can add digging into a bowl of fresh fruit to that list.
A study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition earlier this spring found that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with lower stress levels. Not only that, but researchers also found the ideal serving size that may make a difference.
The ideal serving of fruits and veggies for stress.
According to the researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia, eating 470 grams (~ 2 cups) of fruits and veggies per day may be optimal for stress management. In the study of more than 8,600 people, those who ate around 2 cups of produce per day had 10% lower stress levels than those who consumed less than 230 grams (~1 cup).
"We found that people who have higher fruit and veggie intakes are less stressed than those with lower intakes, which suggests diet plays a key role in mental wellbeing," lead researcher and Ph.D. candidate Simone Radavelli-Bagatini said in a news release.
How fruits and veggies help with stress.
