A new study finds that higher consumption of fruits during midlife is linked to lower odds for depression later in life. Eating more vegetables does not result in the same findings, according to the study conducted by the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine).
Investigators, who analyzed 13,738 participants from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, assessed 14 fruits that people commonly eat in Singapore including oranges, bananas, watermelons and apples. The team also evaluated 25 vegetables. The study started between 1993 and 1998; follow-up interviews were conducted from 2014 to 2016. The team monitored people through their midlife to later life over the course of about 20 years.
Participants were 52.4 years old, on average, when the study span started, and the team followed up on them when participants were 72.5 years old, on average.
Those who ate more fruit earlier in life exhibited a lower likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms later in life, according to the findings published last month in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging.
The association may be due to the the high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory micronutrients in fruits like vitamin C, carotenoids and flavonoids. These can reduce oxidative stress and lower inflammation in the body, which may affect the development of depression, the researchers said in a statement.
What about eating veggies? Researchers studied that, too, but it wasn’t linked to depression symptoms.
“Our study underscores the importance of fruit consumption as a preventive measure against aging-related depression. In our study population, participants who had at least three servings of fruits a day, compared to those with less than one serving a day, were able to reduce the likelihood of aging-related depression significantly by at least 21%,” Koh Woon Puay, a researcher in the study, said in the statement.
“This can be achieved by eating one to two servings of fruits after every meal. We did not see any difference in our results between fruits with high and low glycemic index. Hence, for those with diabetes, they can choose fruits with low glycemic index that will not raise blood sugars as much as those with high index,” Puay added.
