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Study: Eating Fruit Could Improve

Mental Health
February 19, 2023
6 Intermediate Health

Exercise 1
Vocabulary

mental /ˈmɛntl/ relating to the brain or thinking

Adjective
Driving a race car is both a physical and mental
challenge.

psychologist /saɪˈkɑːlədʒɪst/
Noun a scientist who studies human behavior and the brain

It's common for top-tier athletes to see a sports

psychologist.

depression /dɪˈprɛʃən/
Noun a mental health condition in which people often feel very sad,
have trouble eating and sleeping, lack energy, etc.

Depression affects millions of Americans each year.

well-being /wɛl ˈbiːɪŋ/ the state of being happy and healthy

Noun
savory Maintaining
/ˈseɪvəri/ social connections is very important for
one's well-being.
Adjective (of food) having a flavor that is salty or spicy, rather than sweet

I don't really have a sweet tooth and generally prefer

savory snacks.

anxiety /æŋˈzaɪəti/
Noun a mental health condition which causes people to feel extremely
nervous or worried; a state of feeling nervous or worried

Stress can cause mental health problems like depression

and anxiety.

Exercise 2
Article
Study: Eating Fruit Could Improve Mental Health

Experts always tell us we should eat lots of fruit and vegetables to keep our
bodies healthy. But scientists have now found that eating fruit more often
could improve our mental health as well.

Psychologists at Aston University in the UK studied 428 adults with an

average age of 40, asking them questions about their diet and their
psychological health.

The researchers found that the more often people ate fruit, the lower their
scores for depression and the higher their scores for mental well-being.

And often eating savory snacks — such as potato chips — was linked with
more depression and other psychological problems, they wrote in the British
Journal of Nutrition .
The team said their results showed that how often people eat fruit may be
more important to psychological health than the total amount of fruit they
eat each week.

The researchers found no link between eating vegetables and psychological

health, however.

They also found that people who often eat savory snacks are more likely to
have "cognitive failures" — making small mistakes in daily tasks, such as
forgetting where they put things or failing to remember names. And this was
linked to higher reported symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression.

"It is possible that changing what we snack on could be a really simple and
easy way to improve our mental well-being," said lead author Nicola-Jayne
Tuck.

She suggested that people should eat fruit as a snack to improve their mental
health.

Exercise 3
Questions
1. What was the average age of the study participants?

2. Was eating more vegetables linked to better mental health?

3. What are people who often eat savory snacks more likely to experience?
Exercise 4
Discussion
1. What are your thoughts on the findings of this study?

2. Do you find it surprising that eating fruit could affect our mental health?

3. Do you often snack on fruit? What are your favorites?

4. How often do you eat savory snacks?

5. What snack foods from your country would you recommend trying?

Exercise 5
Further Discussion
1. In your opinion, what are the simplest steps people can take to improve their
mental well-being?

2. What percentage of people in your country do you imagine have experienced

mental health problems?

3. Do people in your country tend to talk openly about their mental health?

4. Why do you think many people who experience mental health problems don't
seek help?

5. How do you expect mental health treatment to change over your lifetime?

Source
 This lesson is based on an article by Bill Smith.

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