by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 3 March 2015
We all know that fruits and vegetables are good for our health, but a recent study in the United Kingdom confirmed that eating more than five servings a day can lead to better mood and increase our sense of well-being. In the study, patients filled out a mood questionnaire and “the people eating the most fresh fruits and vegetables,” explained Dr. Jennifer Johnson of the Bastyr Center for Natural Health, “reported a higher sense of well-being and better overall mood.”
“Let food be the medicine,” Dr. Johnson encouraged, “it’s a simple thing to think about.” A naturopathic doctor, and Associate Clinical Dean for the School of Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr, Dr. Johnson recommended eating more fruits and vegetables as a simple step to improve mood, as well as health. “It is ultimately a personal choice,” she observed. As a naturopath, Dr. Johnson encourages her patients to build better habits, “I want to support people where they are,” she said, “this is the easiest thing to add. You don’t have to take anything away.”
‘Eat Them’
As to how much of fruits and veggies to eat, Dr. Johnson recommended looking at your daily calorie intake, and considering a percentage. “At least half the plate, ideally,” she said, with a minimum of six servings up to 10. “A serving is different depending on the food,” she allowed, but she encouraged diversity – at least four different vegetables and fruits a day.
Fresh veggies and fruit are usually best but unsweetened dried offer a nice runner-up. Frozen is another option but canned is the last optimal. Still, “if the only thing you have access to are canned peaches,” Dr. Johnson encouraged, “eat them.”
With natural, fresh produce, Dr. Johnson explained, “we can break down these foods, and we’re able to assimilate them.” The important thing is to remember that the more processed the food, the less nutrition our body gets. “Sugar naturally occurring in orange juice is easier for our bodies to process than sugar added,” Dr. Johnson explained, yet to make out-of-season oranges more palatable sugar is often added.
Dr. Johnson encouraged eating produce in season whenever possible. Fruits and vegetables ripened naturally, and eaten at the height of the season, have a higher nutritional value, and a higher amount of the enzymes we need. Plus, consuming in season fruits and vegetable consumption supports the environment, and usually end up being more economical than eating exotic, and rare, produce.
“We are part of our environment,” Dr. Johnson observed. Humans have developed alongside plants, and we have hormones and receptors that can process the natural parts of our foods. Caffeine, found naturally in tea and coffee, binds to adenosine receptors in our nerve cells, isoflavones in soy binds to estrogen receptors (in certain conditions,) and the benzodiazepine found in sage plants binds to receptors in the brain. “We as humans are in very close communication with, and in the examples above, are hard wired to utilize chemicals/compounds found in plants,” she wrote in a follow-up e-mail.
The book ‘Potatoes Not Prozac’ by Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons also confirms research that what we eat can raise, or lower, our mood. Being moody, impulsive, angry, tired and stressed out can be caused by our diet, just as feeling good can be too.
Small Changes
“You have to plan it out,” Dr. Johnson observed about serving more fruits and vegetables to your family, “I have kids. I really have to think.” For everyone, “you are not going to want as much of the Doritos,” she said about snack time, “if you give kids fruits and vegetables first, they will, first, eat more fruits and vegetables.”
Some people, with acute or chronic health problems may need to cook, or seek a limited selection, of vegetables and fruit. However, for most of us, “eating only one additional fruit or vegetable can help,” Dr. Johnson observed, “even adding a tablespoon of dried fruit or fruit spread without sugar.” Slipping three pieces of spinach into a dish can increase the nutrition level of your meal without changing much of the flavor. “It is better to have a little of something,” she said, “than nothing.”
When asked about organic versus non-organic, Dr. Johnson encouraged everyone to simply eat. “It’s better that you eat fresh fruits and vegetables,” she said, but also, “research has shown that organic grown has a higher nutritional value.” The Environmental Working Group (EWG.org) can advise careful shoppers about which crops have the highest amounts of pesticides, and Dr. Johnson agreed that there are long-term benefits to eating the organic versions of produce that get the largest amounts of chemicals.
“Once you start making small changes,” Dr. Johnson said, “the large changes are easier.” She also encouraged giving ourselves credit for the small changes.
For more information about ways, small and large, that we can take steps to better health, visit the Bastyr Center website – or attend one of the upcoming educational, and free, Bastyr Living Naturally lectures. Find a list of the upcoming talks on the Bastyr website.
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