Eating for Optimism
A commentary by Victor Perton, That Optimism Man
We already know that food can bring people together, lift spirits, and foster infectious optimism. What is newly exciting is this. Research now suggests that certain foods, especially flavonoid-rich foods, may themselves be associated with sustained optimism.
That idea feels especially alive to me right now because new research has given it fresh energy and scientific shape.
A 2026 study in Clinical Nutrition, Dietary flavonoid intake and psychological well being: A bidirectional relationship, led by Alysha S. Thompson and Aedín Cassidy of the Co Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast, together with colleagues from Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Chapman University, and other leading institutions, found that higher intake of flavonoid rich foods was associated with a greater likelihood of sustained optimism over time. The strongest food signals came from berries, apples, and citrus fruits. The study was conducted in women because it drew on data from the Nurses’ Health Study, a long-running cohort of female registered nurses.
In other words, one more everyday habit may belong in the optimist's growing toolkit. Choose more flavonoid-rich foods.
This is the kind of research that deserves celebration. In Optimism: The How and Why, I write about optimism as a daily practice, a source of energy, courage, and forward movement. Optimism is the disciplined conviction that better outcomes are possible and that we can help build them. This study sits beautifully within that understanding. It suggests that what we eat may help nourish not only the body, and also the hopeful, energised spirit with which we meet life.
Commenting on the research, Professor Aedín Cassidy said, “This new research shows that people who consume more flavonoids also tend to be happier and more optimistic.” She added that berries, apples, and citrus fruits were associated with a 3 to 16 per cent greater likelihood of sustained psychological wellbeing, and that the findings highlight the potential for simple dietary modifications to support long-term psychological wellbeing.
Dr Alysha Thompson brought the study's practical meaning to life when she said, “Our research shows that simple, everyday choices, like adding berries, apples, and citrus to your diet, could help people feel happier and more optimistic over time.” She also pointed to something especially exciting, a positive cycle in which eating well can support happiness, and feeling happier may encourage healthier dietary habits.
That positive cycle matters. It feels deeply consistent with the way optimism works. Optimism grows through reinforcement. It grows through habits that strengthen vitality, possibility, and confidence. A smile can change the emotional tone of a room. A warm greeting can open a conversation. Gratitude can redirect attention toward what is working. A hopeful question can shift a meeting from anxiety to agency. Now, this research suggests that a bowl of blueberries, some strawberries, an apple, or an orange may also play a small, meaningful role in strengthening the conditions in which optimism thrives.
This reflection also sits within a wider Centre for Optimism conversation about food, wellbeing, optimism and hope, which includes Kathy Ashton’s lovely essay, The Happy Connection: Food, Optimism, and the Power of Potatoes. Her piece captures something many of us recognise instinctively. Food carries more than nutrition. It carries comfort, memory, ritual, connection, and possibility. What feels especially exciting now is that research is illuminating the same terrain with greater clarity. The food we choose each day may help nourish a more hopeful way of being in the world.
That is worth celebrating.
For years, we have spoken about the habits of an optimist. Smile and say hello. Ask, “What’s been the best thing in your day so far?” Practise gratitude. Share joy. Notice beauty. Choose language that opens possibility. This new study invites us to add another habit to that list. Choose more flavonoid-rich foods. Blueberries. Strawberries. Apples. Oranges. Grapefruit. More everyday choices that support energy, wellbeing, and sustained optimism.
There is something wonderfully democratic about this idea. Optimism belongs to everyone. It lives in daily life. It lives in kitchens, lunch boxes, fruit bowls, shopping baskets, cafés, and family tables. It does not wait for grand moments. It grows through small choices made consistently and with care. That is one reason optimism is so powerful. It can be learned. It can be practised. It can be shared. It can be multiplied.
This research deserves celebration. It is serious and hopeful. It is grounded in evidence, and it enlarges possibility. It reminds us that the path to a better future is often built through ordinary choices made well. It turns optimism into something lived.
The future is built through joy, courageous action, and the daily practice of optimism. Perhaps even something as simple as what we eat can help us bring more of that optimism to life.
So here is one more habit of an optimist. When you next shop, look out for your favourite flavonoid rich foods and bring them home with intention. Blueberries. Strawberries. Apples. Oranges. Grapefruit. Small choices, repeated often, help shape a more hopeful life.
And next time you eat an apple, think optimism.