After seeing the news that a multibillion-dollar modern building was built to “raise” animals indoors for meat food products, my cousin commented that “Animals there would not be happy, and eating the "unhappy" foods would make a person unhappy”. Feelings of happiness can mean different things to different people. Are there certain foods that make people feel better or happier?

 

    One research paper reported that the happiness of the oldest-old men was associated with fruit and vegetable intake (1). The participants in this analysis were the oldest-old, home-dwelling men (n = 338, mean age 88 years, range 82-97 years) from the longitudinal Helsinki Businessmen Study cohort. In 2016, a postal health and nutrition survey was performed. Happiness was evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale of Happiness. The nutrition survey included a 3-day food diary, Mediterranean Diet Adherence score, and Index of Diet Quality designed to measure adherence to Finnish dietary recommendations. The participants were divided into quartiles according to happiness scores, and diet quality scores, food intakes, and other indicators were compared between the happiness quartiles. Happiness was linearly associated with total fruit and vegetable intakes (p = 0.002) and inversely associated with age (p = 0.016), blood glucose levels (p = 0.049), skipping lunch (p = 0.023), reduced food intake (p = 0.002), and weight loss (p = 0.016). Fruit and vegetable intakes indicated happiness in the oldest-old men while reduced food intakes and weight loss were inversely associated with happiness. Maintaining good nutrition and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption may be important for the psychological health of older people (1).

 

    In college students, fruit and vegetable intake was also found associated with happiness (2). In this web-based study, all students who attended classes were invited to participate in the study. Five hundred forty-one students filled out the web-based questionnaire which included questions related to the measurement of happiness, breakfast, fruit and vegetable consumption, and socio-economic and demographic information. The measure of happiness was positively associated with eating breakfast, the number of meals eaten daily and the amount of fruit and vegetable consumption (p values were <0.001, 0.008, 0.02, and 0.045 respectively). Students who ate breakfast every day, more than 8 servings of fruit and vegetables daily, and had 3 meals in addition to 1-2 snacks per day had the highest happiness score. Healthier behavior pattern was associated with higher happiness scores among these college students (2).

 

    One study (3) assessed changes in mean Subjective Happiness Scale scores in response to consuming 2010-2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended types and amounts of vegetables. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that adults eat at least 1½ to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day.

 

    Men and women (n = 75) aged 18 to 65 years, with body mass index ≥ 25, with low habitual vegetable consumption were recruited from Grand Forks, North Dakota, from December 2016 to January 2018, to participate in this study for 8 weeks. The vegetable intervention group was provided with vegetables in recommended amounts. The control group was not provided vegetables but completed the same tests as the vegetable intervention group. Mean Subjective Happiness Scale scores were assessed before and after the intervention. A significant interaction between treatment and visit (p = .015) revealed greater mean Subjective Happiness Scale scores at week 8 than at baseline in the vegetable intervention group (+0.23 ± 0.11) (mean difference ± SE of the difference), while no change in the control group (-0.15 ± 0.11). The greater mean Subjective Happiness Scale scores observed after increasing vegetable consumption to meet Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations may suggest that adhering to such guidance may help promote psychological well-being (3).

 

    Another study studied whether eating fruit and vegetables was associated with other markers of well-being beyond happiness and life satisfaction. The researchers tested whether fruits and vegetable consumption was associated with greater eudaemonic (meaning good spirit) well-being - a state of flourishing characterized by feelings of engagement, meaning, and purpose in life. They also tested associations with two eudaemonic behaviors - curiosity and creativity (4).

 

    A group of young adults (n=405, 67% women; mean age 19.9 ± 1.6 years) completed an Internet daily diary for 13 consecutive days. Each day, participants reported on their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweets, and chips, as well as their eudaemonic well-being, curiosity, creativity, positive affect, and negative affect.  Fruit and vegetable consumption predicted greater eudaemonic well-being, curiosity, and creativity at the between- and within-person levels. Young adults who ate more fruits and vegetables reported higher average eudaemonic well-being, more intense feelings of curiosity, and greater creativity compared with young adults who ate fewer fruits and vegetables. On days when young adults ate more fruits and vegetables, they reported greater eudaemonic well-being, curiosity, and creativity compared with days when they ate fewer fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetable consumption also predicted higher positive affect, which mostly did not account for the associations between fruits and vegetables and the other well-being variables. Few unhealthy foods (sweets, chips) were related to well-being except that consumption of sweets was associated with greater curiosity and positive effect at the within-person level (4).

 

    Although the pattern of fruit and vegetable intake associated with happiness reported by these studies are just correlational, these studies may provide some evidence that fruit and vegetable consumption can be related to a broader range of well-being states. Nutrition plays a major role in physical and mental health. The health benefits of diets rich in fruits and vegetables are well established. Fruits and vegetable consumption may be a causal factor in promoting states of positive well-being, which is the state in which people feel good and satisfied. Positive emotions and happiness may improve health and prolong life. Diet quality, Mediterranean dietary pattern, fruit and vegetable, chocolate, and fish consumption have been linked to positive affect, improved mood, and reduced risk of depression. Eat more fruits and vegetables so that you may feel happier, too.

 

References:

1.            Satu K Jyväkorpi, A Urtamo, K H Pitkälä, T E Strandberg. (2018). Happiness of the oldest-old men is associated with fruit and vegetable intakes. Eur Geriatr Med. 9(5):687-690. doi: 10.1007/s41999-018-0084-9.

2.            Azadeh Lesani, Asghar Mohammadpoorasl, Maryam Javadi, Jabiz Modaresi Esfeh, Ali Fakhari. (2016). Eating breakfast, fruit and vegetable intake and their relation with happiness in college students. Eat Weight Disord. 21(4):645-651. doi: 10.1007/s40519-016-0261-0.

3.            Angela De Leon, Lisa Jahns, James N Roemmich, Sara E Duke, Shanon L Casperson. (2022). Consumption of Dietary Guidelines for Americans Types and Amounts of Vegetables Increases Mean Subjective Happiness Scale Scores: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Acad Nutr Diet. 122(7):1355-1362. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2021.11.009.

4.            Tamlin S Conner, Kate L Brookie, Aimee C Richardson, Maria A Polak. (2015). On carrots and curiosity: eating fruit and vegetables is associated with greater flourishing in daily life. Br J Health Psychol. 20(2):413-27. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12113.