]Eating an orange a day may lower a person's depression risk by 20%, according to a study published in Microbiome. That might be because citrus stimulates the growth of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F. prausnitzii), a type of bacteria found in the human gut, to influence production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine—two biological molecules known to elevate mood.

Summary

A Harvard-led study published in Microbiome found that eating one orange a day may reduce depression risk by 20%.

The research links citrus consumption to increased levels of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, a gut bacterium associated with higher serotonin and dopamine production, which can boost mood.

The findings were confirmed in both women and men. While not a replacement for antidepressants, citrus may play a role in mental health strategies.

Researchers hope to conduct clinical trials to further explore the connection between diet and mental health.

  • @[email protected]English
    4•2 days ago

    Oh. Well, for me, I suppose it’s about feeling okay with your current life situation and where you currently stand in relation to your hopes and dreams, in conjunction with not letting the problems of the world dampen your mood. It’s okay to have questions, including unanswerable ones. We can only do so much, so it’s vital to not press ourselves to try to do more than we can. (Needless to say, this all assumes that living is generally a good thing and therefore that stress should generally be reduced when possible.)

    • @over_cloxEnglish
      2•2 days ago

      I find myself happy when I wake up in the morning, then it all goes downhill from there when I see the news.

      But your comment made me happy again, or at bare minimum at least content while I’m getting ready to sleep soon.

      Thank you for being a nice person in troublesome times. 👍

      • @[email protected]English
        2•1 day ago

        then it all goes downhill from there when I see the news.

        Right, understandable. You sort of have to be able to go, “c’est la vie,” to yourself, because frankly, there really isn’t anything we can do about the madness at very high-up politics, except maybe (4ss)²1n4t1on lol but that’s not exactly easy to pull off nor ethical anyway.

        I find personal empowerment by helping reduce the total stress among people in my neighborhoods by inviting the public to board game nights that I host weekly. Reduce loneliness’s grip on modern society a little bit, fight off dementia, offer people something to do that isn’t ability-based (so most handicapped or immunocompromised people can still participate), etc.

        Nothing beats any healthy, repeatably sustainable activity that works for you to improve your own community. If you dislike your region to begin with, though, then I suppose there’s /r/IWantOut. I don’t know if there’s a Lemmy equivalent to this yet…