Recommend daily intake of fruit and veg may need doubling, indicates study

Although eating the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day is good for you, eating ten portions is even better, according to researchers from Imperial College London.

Eating 800 grams of fruit and vegetables daily (one portion = 80 grams) is of major benefit in reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer and could prevent as many as 7.8 million premature deaths worldwide every year.

“We wanted to investigate how much fruit and vegetables you need to eat to gain the maximum protection against disease, and premature death,” explains lead author of the research Dagfinn Aune.

As reported in the International Journal of Epidemiology, Aune and team conducted a meta-analysis of data pooled from 95 studies that included approximately 2 million individuals. The researchers looked at 43,000 cases of heart disease, 47,000 cases of stroke, 81,000 cases of cardiovascular disease, 112,000 cancer cases and 94,000 deaths.

The study showed that, compared with eating no fruit and vegetables, eating just 200g (about two and a half portions) of fruit and vegetables per day was associated with risk reductions of 16% for heart disease, 18% for stroke, 13% for cardiovascular disease, 4% for cancer and 15% for premature death.

However, when the amount of fruit and vegetables eaten was increased to 800g per day or ten portions, the risk reductions were 24% for heart disease, 33% for stroke, 28% for cardiovascular disease, 13% for cancer and 31% for premature death.

The fruits and vegetables that were best at preventing heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease and premature death were citrus fruits, apples, green leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach and cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli.

The foods that were best at reducing cancer risk were green vegetables such as spinach, yellow vegetables such as peppers and cruciferous vegetables.

Fruit and vegetables have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and to boost the health of our blood vessels and immune system. This may be due to the complex network of nutrients they hold. For instance they contain many antioxidants, which may reduce DNA damage, and lead to a reduction in cancer risk,”

Dagfinn Aune.

Aune says the abundance of benefical compounds present in fruit and vegetables cannot easily be incorporated into supplements (which have not yet been shown to reduce disease risk) and that it is important to consume whole plant foods.
“It is clear from this work that a high intake of fruit and vegetables hold tremendous health benefits, and we should try to increase their intake in our diet,” concludes Aune.