A diet rich in fruit will not only keep you looking in good shape, but will also keep your mind in good order, new research from Australia suggests.

Regularly dipping in to the office fruit basket could help avoid depression and anxiety, scientists from the University of Melbourne found.

They studied women between the ages of 20 and 93 and concluded that although there is no "magic diet", eating plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grain foods, low-fat dairy products and lean meat can support mental wellbeing as well as physical health.

Processed foods and sweet treats should be reserved as "sometimes foods", explained Dr Felice N Jacka.

The research revealed that a diet consisting mostly of hamburgers, white bread, pizza, chips, beer and sugar-laden foods was associated with more than a 50 per cent greater likelihood for depressive disorders.

More investigations into the link between diet and mental health are now needed, the scientists say.

Posted by Isabel Carter

 

This entry was posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 11:22 am and is filed under Office Fruit Blog-2010. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.