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Want to be happier? Eat more fruits and vegetables.

Posted at 6:25 PM, Oct 10, 2012
and last updated 2012-10-10 18:25:55-04

We’ve all heard the vegetables are good for your health, but new research shows that happiness and mental health are highest among people who eat seven servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

British researchers looked at 80,000 people and found their mental well-being rose with the number of portions of fruit and vegetables they ate.

Researchers found that an increase in happiness capped at seven portions.

Scientists think if more people eat fruit and veggies it could eventually have a bigger effect, such as lowering crime.

 “The statistical power of fruit and vegetables was a surprise,” Study co-author Professor Sarah Stewart-Brown, Professor of Public Health at Warwick Medical School, said. “Diet has traditionally been ignored by well-being researchers.”

Researchers found that a quarter of the population eats just one portion or no portion of fruits and vegetables a day. And only a tenth of the population consumes the portion size proven to increase happiness.

According to Warwick, currently, 25 percent of the world’s population doesn’t even eat one serving a day.

Read more here about the study.