At every stage of our lives, mental health is very important. Mental health refers to the emotional, psychological and social well being of a person. Point is that how a person thinks, feels and acts is affected by mental health. Therefore, boosting our mental health is essential. Various signs of poor mental health that are observed in a person are feeling depressed, emotional outbursts, sleep issues, weight changes or appetite etc.
It is really amazing to mention here that furry fruits like kiwi fruits etc could boost the mental health of a person in just 4 days. A new research study regarding this has been published in the British Journal of Nutrition. It is now said that by including small fruits like kiwi fruit to the daily diet.
What are furry fruits?
There are some fruits that have got a hairy outer surface. It must be noted that kiwi fruit is one example of furry fruit and it has brown coloured fuzzy skin and vibrant green flush. It is possible to eat these small hairs present on the outer surface of the fruit as they are edible. Not many would be aware of another furry fruit called rambutan having hairy yellow or red coloured skin with juice flesh inside. The unique texture and flavours make these fruits distinctive.
Relation between vitamin C on mental health:
It is learnt that the researchers linked the vitamin C present in furry fruits with mental health. Truth is that vitamin C would boost the mood, vitality and well being of a person. Vitamin C would lower depression in a person and vitamin C deficiency would lead to higher depression and cognitive impairment.
The research study involved as many as 155 persons and these participants consumed daily vitamin C supplement, placebo or 2 kiwi fruits. The participants reported their mood, flourishing, sleep quality and physical activity using smart phone surveys.
It has been brought out that when the persons consumed kiwi fruits then their vitality and mood got boosted within just 4 days, peaked around 14 to 16 days and improved flourishing from day 14. The study has found out that vitamin C marginally improved mood until day 12.
How vitamin C would improve our mood?
An essential nutrient is vitamin C and it is present in fruits and vegetables etc are known. It is noteworthy that as an antioxidant vitamin C would help us combat oxidative stress and it would protect the brain from free radical damage linked to cognitive decline and mental disorders.
For mood regulation, serotonin is very important is a known fact. Here, vitamin C would support the synthesis of neurotransmitters like serotonin etc. our cogognitive function, memory and concentration would get boosted by adequate intake of vitamin C. Point is that the anti-inflammatory properties of this vitamin would contribute to our overall brain health. Though vitamin C would not be able to cure mental health conditions, maintaining sufficient levels of this vitamin would positively influence the mental well being and cognitive resilience etc of a person.