In conclusion, our study using panel data from the UK suggests that mental well-being responds in a dose-response fashion to increases in both the quantity and the frequency of fruits and vegetables consumed. These findings in turn could have important implications for public health practitioners, especially given the low rate of adherence to the national ‘five-a-day’ guidelines, as it suggests that even modest changes in the consumption patterns of individuals may translate into substantive positive effects for the well-being of large cohorts of the population. The relatively low rate of adherence to recommended guidelines points to the importance of further behavioural orientated research investigating how individuals make decisions about their diet, in order to help us understand how best to encourage higher levels of fruit and vegetable consumption. It is of course possible (if not likely) that by simply communicating the potential mental well-being benefits in addition to physical health benefits, one may be able to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. This strategy may be particularly effective due to the fact that positive effects for mental well-being accrue relatively rapidly, whereas the benefits in terms of physical health accrue in the medium to long-term.