Three to four servings of vegetables per day can lower incidence of psychological stress, according to a new study by the University of Sydney.
Published in the British Journal Open, the study included more than 60,000 Australians 45 and over. It measured fruit and vegetable consumption, lifestyle factors and psychological stress at two time periods, from 2006 to 2008 and 2010.
Women, in particular, showed more dramatic results.
Findings, from a post by the University of Sydney:
> People who ate 3-4 daily servings of vegetables had a 12% lower risk of stress than those who ate 0-1
> People who ate 5-7 servings a day of fruits and vegetables had a 14% lower risk of stress than those who ate 0-4
> Women who ate 3-4 servings of vegetables had 18% lower risk of stress than those who ate 0-1
> Women who ate 2 servings of fruit had 16% lower risk of stress than those who ate 0-1
> Women who ate 5-7 servings had a 23% lower risk of stress than those who ate 0-1
Researchers said further studies should investigate the “possibility of a threshold between medium and higher levels of fruit and vegetable intake and psychological stress.”