What we eat affects how we feel. It should make us feel good. No other foods pack the nutritional punch that fruits do. Fruits can do miraculous things to the body. Fruits promote not only physiological but also psychological wellness.
A plate of fruits a day can keep diseases away. It can make you alive, active and energised. A good fruit intake is related to better mental health. Eating more fruits have a lower incidence of mental disorders, including lower rates of depression, perceived stress, and negative mood. Eating more fruits have a higher likelihood of optimal mental states, such as greater happiness, positive mood, life satisfaction and socio-emotional flourishing, which captures feelings of meaning, purpose, and fulfilment in life.
Fruits make your life better. These antioxidant-rich, fibre-full, nutritional powerhouses fight infection, illness and disease while improving your overall health and wellbeing in the process.
Consuming fresh seasonal fruit will help to reap the benefits on your mental wellbeing which can gradually increase your happiness in a sustainable, healthy, affordable and delicious way.
Antioxidants such as vitamin C and carotenoids play a pivotal role in protecting the body against oxidative stress, which is responsible for the causation and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, chronic inflammatory disease, atherosclerosis, some cancers, and some forms of depression.
The water-soluble vitamins (vitamin C and B vitamins), and certain minerals (calcium, magnesium, and zinc), are important for optimal cognitive and emotional functioning.
It is the most easily digestible food. Digestion means jataragni, the digestive fires. Fruit is the best thing for this fire to burn well. It burns the quickest and leaves least amount of residue. It means there is less amount of stress on our system. To achieve all this, it is important to eat the fruit the land produces at a certain time in a certain region.
Fruit affects mood
Eating fruits may promote emotional well-being as well as predict improvements in mood the next day. This is because of serotonin, a chemical messenger that acts as a mood stabiliser. It helps produce healthy sleeping patterns as well as boost your mood. Example: Bananas, berries, pineapple.
Fruits can get you high: Eating fruit daily brings about greater positive psychological well-being and less symptoms of depression.
Fruits give a feel-good factor: Eating fruits like apples, stimulates a part of the brain that produces a calming effect, creates more energy, and increases overall happiness.
Fruits energise you: Fruits contain simple carbohydrates that your body easily breaks down into glucose to give you a quick boost of energy. It replenishes our glycogen levels and keeps us energised. Example: Fruits rich in carbohydrates include bananas and oranges.
Nutritional powerhouse
Vitamin B6: B6 vitamins convert tryptophan into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays a primary role in mood, learning, appetite and impulse control.
Example: Banana, mango, musk melon, pineapple, apricot.
Vitamin C: It is a great way to boost your immune system with antioxidants. Your immune system and your brain are connected. Vitamin C binds to free radicals, allowing the body to easily remove them. It has also found to lower depression. Example: Oranges, kale, strawberries, mangoes and kiwis.
Carotenoids: Having greater levels of these pigments are linked to higher levels of optimism. They have high antioxidant levels which destroy the free radicals causing damage to the cells. Example: Papaya, oranges, melon, mango, watermelon.
Anthocyanidin: The flavonoid anthocyanidin reduces inflammation,and therefore reduces the feeling of depression. Example: Berries.
Tryptophan: Tryptophan is an amino acid which a building block to creating mood boosting serotonin in the brain. Consuming fruits rich in tryptophan allows the body to make more serotonin and so helps to keep depression away. Example: Banana, pineapple, kiwi, plums.
Folic acid: Folic acid deficiency leads to a drop in serotonin levels. Folic acid is good for foetal brain development. Citrus fruits contains high concentrations of folate, a B vitamin used in the serotonin creation process and therefore, alleviates depression and reduces fatigue. Example: Grapes, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, grapefruit. Grapes are known to contain resveratrol, a phytonutrient and an antioxidant that is anti-inflammatory, and may be beneficial to health.
Magnesium: It plays a role in hundreds of different metabolic functions and helps balance serotonin. Example: Banana, figs, strawberries, papaya, jackfruit, kiwi, musk melon.
(Dr Mickey Mehta is a global leading holistic health guru and life coach; website: www.drmickeymehta.com)
