 Emerging evidence suggests that higher daily intake of fiber-rich fruits and vegetables is associated with lower incidences of anxiety in adults, and at the same time greater happiness, higher life satisfaction, and greater emotional well-being. So, persuading people to consume more fruits and vegetables may not only benefit their physical health in the long run, but also their mental well-being in the short run. Fruit consumption, for example, has protective associations with leaving killers like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, as well as depression. The question is, why? Several different mechanisms have been proposed. For example, it may be the antioxidants in anti-inflammatory properties of produce, scavenging the free radicals that are involved in some of the inflammation associated with depression. If that's the case, what about just taking vitamin C supplements? The brain has some of the highest levels of vitamin C in the body, so the thought is, if we take extra vitamin C, it may have some sort of therapeutic role in brain diseases, especially given it's not just an antioxidant, but also has other critical functions in the brain, such as helping to build neurotransmitters like dopamine, but you don't know whether it actually helps until you put it to the test. One study found a beneficial effect, adding vitamin C as an adjunct treatment to an antidepressant, while another study found no benefit from vitamin C supplementation. So there are mixed results for vitamin C and depression. Here's another study that found no benefit when it came to depression, but those randomized to vitamin C instead of placebo pills did show a significant decrease in anxiety level, and this wasn't only seen in this study. The effects of oral vitamin C supplementation on anxiety in students double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. High school students were given 500 milligrams a day or placebo. 500 milligrams of vitamin C is about what you find in five oranges for yellow kiwi fruit or guavas, or one and a half yellow bell peppers. Within just two weeks, the vitamin C reduced anxiety compared to placebo, along with providing a significant drop in heart rate. Given these data showing vitamin C may have anxiety-reducing effects, researchers sought to find out if only a single dose could acutely affect emotional states. And indeed, within only two hours of taking some C, subjects experienced a significant drop in anxiety compared to placebo, though only among those who started out the most anxious in the first place. As a bonus, vitamin C supplementation may lower your blood pressure a few points, but whole fruits and vegetables can do the same thing and may even do it better for those who need it the most. As I've shown previously, even just adding two servings of fruits and vegetables a day can have psychological well-being benefits within only two weeks, and you won't be put at risk of kidney stones like you would with vitamin C supplements, though that appears to be only a problem in men.