Orange a day may lower depression risk by 20%

Eating an orange daily could trim your risk of depression by 20%, Harvard researchers revealed on 13 March 2025. The finding, published in Microbiome by doctors from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, digs into how this citrus fruit might nudge brain health in a brighter direction. It’s not just about staying fit—turns out, what’s on your plate could lift your mood, too.

The clue came from the Nurses’ Health Study II, tracking over 100,000 women since 1989. Stool samples from some participants showed a gut bacterium, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, thriving in those who ate more oranges—and less depression. This microbe, linked to higher citrus intake, seems to spark serotonin and dopamine production in the gut, chemicals that ripple up to the brain and ease the mind. Even men showed similar hints in separate studies.

Picture this: peeling an orange each morning might quietly tweak your gut-brain chatter. The researchers say it’s not a cure—don’t ditch therapy for a fruit bowl—but the pattern’s striking. With depression a heavy load worldwide, a 20% risk drop from something so simple feels like a thread worth pulling. More trials are in the works to see if the orange’s promise holds firm.