Dietary Intake to Improve Mood and Prevent Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract

This paper explores the range of research linking fruit and vegetable intake to improvements in mood as well as the prevention and potential treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Happiness and life-satisfaction have been linked to fruit/vegetable consumption in a variety of cross-sectional studies performed across the world, and through recent micro-longitudinal studies. Major depressive disorder has similar links to fruits/vegetables through correlational data, mechanistic evidence, as well as recent interventional studies. Taken as a whole, these studies provide evidence that dietary intake should be taken seriously as a contributor to both positive and negative mood changes.