The effects of eating habits on physical health are well documented. A new Gallup poll suggests that there could also be a link between food choices and mental health.

U.S. adults who reported eating healthy foods all day on the previous day were 34 percent less likely to suffer current depression compared to those who said they did not consume a healthy diet.

Only 63 percent of Americans reported eating healthy foods on the previous day, the lowest figure since Gallup began the annual survey in 2008.

A 2015 Baylor University study found that more than a third of U.S. clergy members are obese. Yet researchers discovered that spiritual leaders who take a day off each week, experience a sabbatical, or participate in a support group with other pastors lower their risk of obesity.

As Influence recently reported, nearly half of U.S. pastors say they have suffered from depression at some point over the course of ministry.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. For more information on this topic, listen to the Influence podcast “Mental Health and Ministry,” featuring a personal testimony from Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God. And read “Mental Health and the Healthy Church” and “6 Healthy Habits for Balanced Leaders.”