Eating your 5 A DAY 'could make you more optimistic'

Conclusion This is well-conducted research which has used a validated measure to assess the optimism of a sample of middle-aged American citizens and measure their blood antioxidant levels. The researchers found a link between higher carotenoid levels and higher optimism, but as the researchers rightly conclude, their findings do not prove cause and effect and it isn’t possible to say in which direction the relationship is going. It is possible that having higher levels of antioxidants in the body leads to better physical health and this in turn enhances optimism, but then it is equally possible that people who are in better psychological wellbeing are likely to engage in health behaviours associated with higher antioxidants, such as eating a healthier diet. There is almost certainly a complex multi-directional relationship between various physical and psychological factors and behavioural choices. This is supported by the fact that taking demographic factors, health factors and diet and smoking into account reduced the significance of the relationship between carotenoids and optimism. A link between diet and carotenoid levels is to be expected, as fruit and vegetables are the main source of carotenoids.    It’s also worth noting that although the study sample was large, the 982 participants were only those with complete data on psychological assessments and antioxidant levels. In order to have the blood tests, participants needed to be healthy enough to travel to the...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Mental health Source Type: news