The Association Between Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Mental Health Among Young Adults

While the majority of the American population is aware that fruits and vegetables can improve physical health, research also suggests that mental health may benefits as well. With depression and anxiety rates increasing and fruit and vegetable consumption decreasing across the country there is potential that the two are related. It has been found that majority of American adults do not meet fruit and vegetable recommendations, while 16 million adults face depression and anxiety. Young adults reported the lowest amount of fruit and vegetable consumption, as well as some of the highest rates of depression and anxiety. The purpose of the current study was to find if there is a relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and mental health in young adults. The study gathered data on 113 American young adults, ages 18-25, and their recorded food intake and mental health using validated questionnaires and nutrition tools. The findings show a positive relationship between fruit intake and self-esteem, a negative correlation between fruit intake and cognitive dysregulation and lastly, a positive correlation between total fruit and vegetable intake and self-esteem. These findings support existing literature in that there is a correlation between fruit and vegetable consumption and mental health in young adults

Oxidative Stress Associated with Chilling Injury in Immature Fruit: Postharvest Technological and Biotechnological Solutions

Immature, vegetable-like fruits are produced by crops of great economic importance, including cucumbers, zucchini, eggplants and bell peppers, among others. Because of their high respiration rates, associated with high rates of dehydration and metabolism, and their susceptibility to chilling injury (CI), vegetable fruits are highly perishable commodities, requiring particular storage conditions to avoid postharvest losses. This review focuses on the oxidative stress that affects the postharvest quality of vegetable fruits under chilling storage. We define the physiological and biochemical factors that are associated with the oxidative stress and the development of CI symptoms in these commodities, and discuss the different physical, chemical and biotechnological approaches that have been proposed to reduce oxidative stress while enhancing the chilling tolerance of vegetable fruits

Prescriptions for Produce: An intervention with nutrition education, cooking instruction and produce vouchers to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.

In this pilot study, we evaluated the feasibility of nutrition education, cooking instruction and produce vouchers for pregnant low income mothers to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Participants were first trimester pregnant mothers receiving prenatal care at a local Federally Qualified Health Clinic (FQHC) in San Antonio. They attended a grocery shopping tour and cooking class conducted by a registered dietitian, focusing incorporating fruit and vegetables into meals, and a monthly $40 voucher, redeemable for fruit and vegetables. Mothers with high menu planning and grocery shopping skills and more fruit at home reported higher fruit intakes. Mothers with high grocery shopping skills reported higher vegetable intakes. Compared to baseline, the reported home availability of fruit, and fruit and vegetable intakes were significantly improved at post 1; fruit and vegetable home availability, menu planning and grocery shopping skills, and fruit and vegetable intakes were significantly higher at post 2

Crowdsourcing vegetables for farmers’ livelihood improvement: a novel collaborative pilot in Uganda. Resilient seed systems for climate change adaptation and sustainable livelihoods in the East Africa sub-region project progress report

The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT is implementing a Dutch-supported project entitled: Resilient seed systems for climate change adaptation and sustainable livelihoods in the East Africa sub-region. This work aims to boost timely and affordable access to good-quality seed for a portfolio of crops / varieties for millions of women and men farmers’ and their communities across East Africa. East West Seed (EWS) and the Alliance, in collaboration with the Wageningen Center for Development Innovation, the World Vegetable Centre and National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO)-Uganda, are combining the EWS farmer training approach and the Alliance’s crowdsourcing methodology in a small pilot initiative on vegetables in Uganda. The targeted portfolio of vegetables include traditional (e.g. green leafy vegetables) and modern ones (e.g. tomato, onion, sweet pepper, cabbage, pumpkin) based on farmers’ interests and marketing opportunities, sourced from EWS, the World Vegetable Centre and farmers’ own gardens. The main objective is to strengthen farmers’ capacity to make better use of crop (vegetable) diversity for multiple livelihood purposes. Based on a situational analysis in the Hoima area, 13 farmers were selected to take part in the pilot. They received training in the various aspects of vegetable management from the EWS Knowledge Transfer team in Uganda. The ultimate aim is scale the pilot to about 1,000 farmers. The main research questions for this initiative are: • What are the promising vegetable varieties that smallholder farmers could integrate in their production system? • How do social and gender variables influence crop/variety selection? • What organizational form can best support the testing and adoption of vegetable new species and varieties

Cruciferous vegetable intake and cardiovascular disease risk in the Framingham Offspring Cohort

Fruit and vegetable intake has been demonstrated to be inversely correlated with CVD risk, but it remains to be elucidated whether different subclasses of fruits and vegetables and their bioactive constituents have different effects on CVD risk. Cruciferous vegetables have garnered increasing attention over the years, as evidence for their protective role in cancer and other chronic diseases has grown. However, since studies examining associations between cruciferous vegetable intake and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are limited and some results are conflicting, we used data from the Framingham Offspring Study starting with examination 5 (N=2902) to evaluate the association between cruciferous vegetable intake and carefully adjudicated cardiovascular outcomes, cruciferous vegetable consumption was classified into 4 categories; <1, 1-<3, 3-<6, and 6+ one-half cup servings per week. Cox proportional hazard models were used to adjust for potential confounding; the final model contained baseline BMI, age, smoking status, alcohol intake (drinks per day), total fruit and vegetable intake, and trans fatty acid intake. Follow up continued for three consecutive 4-year exam cycles. Using <1.0 serving/week as the referent category, the hazard ratios (HR) for CVD declined in a dose-response manner with cruciferous vegetable intake (HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.64-0.98; HR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.61-1.01; and HR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45-0.98, respectively. In sex-stratified analysis, the strongest effects were found in men consuming 6+ servings per week (HR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.24 – 0.98). HR estimates also declined in women, but with less of a dose-response pattern. Overall, these data suggests that there is an inverse association between cruciferous vegetable intake and CVD risk in both men and women

Management of vegetable crop residues for reducing nitrate leaching losses in intensive vegetable rotations

Crop residues of field vegetables are often characterized by large amounts of biomass with a high N-content. Despite low soil temperatures during autumn, high rates of N mineralization and nitrification still occur causing important N-losses through leaching1. Crop residues pose a possible threat to maintaining water quality objectives, while at the same time being a vital link in closing the nutrient and organic matter cycle of soils. Appropriate and sustainable management is needed to obtain the full potential of crop residues. In this research some novel strategies for vegetable crop residue management are being investigated. The outcome of this work will help in defining the best practices in vegetable production in order to better meet the requirements set by the nitrate directive, whilst making best use of a valuable organic material. Vegetable crop residues constitute an important link in the soil nutrient and organic carbon cycle and aid in maintaining soil quality and fertility. However during autumn large amounts of N are released by vegetable crop residues causing important N-losses through leaching. Appropriate and sustainable management is needed to obtain the full potential of crop residues while meeting water quality objectives. In this research the potential of removal and valorisation of vegetable crop residues by means of ensilage or composting was evaluated

Calcium Supplementation Dose and Vegetable Intake Determine Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is one of the cause of high maternal mortality rates. Risk factors for preeclampsia include a lack of nutrients such as vitamin A, calcium, sodium and potassium. Calcium intake in pregnant women is not only obtained from calcium supplementation, but also obtained from consumed foods such as vegetables. to analyzed the relationship between calcium supplementation dose and vegetable intake with preeclampsia in third trimester of pregnant women. observational analytic used a prospective cohort design. A total of 65 third trimester pregnant women participated in the study in Bantul, Yogyakarta. The calcium supplementation dose was obtained through interview using a questionnaire, while vegetable intake was obtained through the food frequency and food recall 2x24 hours. 16 third trimester pregnant women experienced preeclampsia. The mean calcium dose consumed per day was 476.2 mg. The average intake of vegetables per day for pregnant women was 250.9 gr. Kaplan-Mier with the log rank method states that there was a significant difference between calcium supplementation dose (p=0.007) and preeclampsia. There was a significant difference between vegetable intake (p=0.007) and preeclampsia. there was a significant relationship between calcium supplementation dose and vegetable intake with preeclampsia in third trimester pregnant women

Vegetable Fertility Management Trial

Many organic vegetable producers have been relying heavily on livestock composts as a source of fertility on farm. Often, high rates of compost are applied to meet the nitrogen (N) needs of crops. When this strategy is implemented it can lead to over application of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). As an example, a grower may apply poultry manure at 6 tons ac-1 for 3 consecutive years. This contributes 225 lbs ac-1 of P per year, where vegetable crop removal of P ranges from 10-80 lbs ac-1 per season. In this scenario, there is an over application of P, leading to an excess of 900 lbs ac-1 in 3 years in cases where the soil already had sufficient P levels. After multiple seasons of using composts, P levels may accumulate in the soil to the point where applying additional P poses an environmental risk to nearby waterways. Phosphorus loading and associated risk depends on soil type, slope, and proximity to water. However, with impending water quality regulations, farmers will be required to account for their nutrient balance

Contributions of Immigrant Farmworkers to California Vegetable Production

A major concern with immigrants coming into the United States is that they adversely affect domestic workers through job competition and wage depression.We study the displacement and wage reduction effects of immigrants in California vegetable production, which is labor intensive, and 95% of the farmworkers in California are immigrants. Our findings show that this concern is not valid in vegetable production because the addition of one new immigrant displaces only 0.0123 domestic workers, and wage reduction is inconsequential. But one immigrant worker increases the vegetable production by $23,457 and augments the productivity of skilled workers, material inputs, and capital by$11,729.employment displacement, immigrant labor, vegetable production, wage effect, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, J43, J61,