Eating your greens and fruit can banish anxiety
A TINY cheetah cub clings to his mother’s back as she guards him on an African plain.
She then holds him by her mouth before pointing him in the right direction to play with a sibling.
The mother is in a protective mood as she lost four other cubs in a hyena attack the previous night.
Photographer Marc Mol, 61, who captured the touching scenes in the Eastern Serengeti, said: “This was the first time this mother had moved her cubs from her den.
“They are never more vulnerable than at this time. She appeared to be distressed. It was emotional to watch but this is the reality of life in the wild.”
PEOPLE who eat fewer than three portions of fruit and vege- tables a day are 24 per cent more likely to suffer anxiety problems.
The overweight and obese – with more than 36 per cent of body fat – are also 70 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety, say scientists.
Poverty and marital status have an effect but diet was a key factor among 27,000 adults aged 45 to 85, say researchers at Toronto university in Canada.
Study author Karen Davison says: “For those who consumed fewer than three sources of fruits and vegetables daily, there was at least 24 per cent higher odds of anxiety disorder diagnosis. This may also partly explain the findings associated with body composition measures. Increased body fat may be linked to greater inflammation.”
Globally up to 10 per cent of adults have an anxiety problem but it affects women, singles and those on low incomes most.
Co-author Hongmei Tong adds: “We were not surprised to find that those in poverty had such a high prevalence of anxiety disorders.
“Struggling to afford basics such as food and housing causes relentless stress and is inherently anxiety inducing.”
Data from the Canadian Longitutinal Study on Ageing also found immigrants were less anxious.
Just 6.4 per cent of migrants suffered problems compared with 9.3 per cent of Canadians, despite struggles with language and low wages.
Co-author Esme FullerThomson says this could be because the less anxious migrate, “so there is a ‘self-selection’.”
The report is published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.