Fruit and Veg (Flickr_Garry Knight)

Mental disorders account for significant global health burden, with data from the世卫组织世界心理健康（WMH）调查估计全球超过25％的人口将在其一生中发展一种或多种精神障碍。抑郁症是常见的精神障碍，发生在各个世界各地的所有年龄段，是全世界在2010年居住的第二年主要原因.

抑郁症通常表现为持续的悲伤和毫无价值的感觉，以及缺乏从事以前愉悦活动的渴望，并可能严重影响个人的生活质量。精神障碍（包括抑郁症）的一种潜在危险因素是心理困扰 - 不愉快的感觉或影响您功能水平的情绪。

积累证据表明质量较差是常见精神障碍（包括抑郁症）的危险因素，而健康的饮食具有保护性。许多研究饮食，营养与心理健康之间联系的研究表明，某些饮食模式可能与抑郁症发生率降低有关。

Arecent studyinBMC医学评估了西班牙大学生的饮食模式，使用饮食质量分数在基线和10年的随访期间比较了三种饮食模式。研究人员发现，遵守健康的饮食模式，含有水果，蔬菜，豆类和坚果含量高，加工肉（例如地中海或亲素食饮食模式）的依从性与抑郁症的风险降低有关。目前尚不清楚这些饮食模式中哪些特定的营养因素可能导致观察到的抑郁症风险降低。但是，水果和蔬菜含有大量可能对身体和心理健康有益的营养。

Does 5-a-day keep psychological distress at bay?

5天的推荐可能是迄今为止最著名的饮食运动之一。下列的recommendations from the World Health组织that individuals consume “a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables per day (excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers)” for the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity, we were bombarded by public health campaigns encouraging us to each to eat five portions of fruit and veg a day to improve our physical health. But could following the 5-a-day recommendation impact more than just our physical health?

新研究出版inBMC精神病学suggests that following the 5-a-day recommendation may be associated with reduced psychological distress, widely used as an indicator of mental health. The definition of 5-a-day varies slightly by country; in Switzerland, where the study was carried out, the 5-a-day campaign is defined by eating at least 3 portions of vegetables and 2 portions of fruit daily.

研究人员，由Aline Richardat the University of Zurich, analysed data from the 2012/2013 Swiss Health Survey, during which study participants completed a computer assisted telephone interview followed by a written questionnaire. They analysed data from two components of the Swiss Health Survey, a tool for assessing psychological distress (the 5-item mental health index) and food frequency questionnaires, and subsequently accounted for sociodemographic variables and health behaviours that could influence the associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and psychological distress for more than 20,000 participants.

18% of study participants reported eating 3 portions of vegetables per day, with 35% consuming 2 portions of fruit per day. Only 11% of participants adhered to the full 5-a-day recommendation. When the data was stratified by the level of psychological distress reported, a higher percentage of those adhering to the 5-a-day reported low distress levels compared to individuals with moderate or high distress levels. Those who ate 3 portions of vegetables per day also had lower odds of reporting high distress levels compared to those who ate less than the recommended vegetable allowance. Interestingly, no such association was identified for fruit consumption. The researchers concluded that keeping to the 5-a-day recommendation was associated with lower psychological distress.

Fruit and vegetables contain a complex mix of nutrients that may account for their beneficial health effects. It remains unclear which components may be beneficial to mental health, but interestingly this study suggests that when considered separately vegetable consumption may be more beneficial than fruit consumption. It also seems we are bad at following health related advice – only 11% of this Swiss population adhered to the 5-a-day recommendation.

重要的是要注意，这项研究仅表明食用您的5日和减少心理困扰之间存在相关性，并且当研究人员渴望指出，需要纵向研究以确定关系的因果关系。尽管有这样的警告，但这些结果表明，吃5天的时间对于避免蓝色的情况至关重要。