This table summarizes the main effects of fruit and vegetable
consumption on risk of death, expressed as percentage
decreases.
Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day reduces
your risk of death at any point in time by 42% compared to eating
less than one portion, reports a new UCL study.
Researchers used the Health Survey for England to study the eating
habits of 65,226 people representative of the English population
between 2001 and 2013, and found that the more fruit and vegetables
they ate, the less likely they were to die at any age. Eating seven
or more portions reduces the specific risks of death by cancer and
heart disease by 25% and 31% respectively. The research also showed
that vegetables have significantly higher health benefits than
fruit.
This
is the first study to link fruit and vegetable consumption with
all-cause, cancer and heart disease deaths in a
nationally-representative population, the first to quantify health
benefits per-portion, and the first to identify the types of fruit
and vegetable with the most benefit.
Compared to eating less than one portion of fruit and vegetables,
the risk of death by any cause is reduced by 14% by eating one to
three portions, 29% for three to five portions, 36% for five to
seven portions and 42% for seven or more. These figures are
adjusted for sex, age, cigarette smoking, social class, Body Mass
Index, education, physical activity and alcohol intake, and exclude
deaths within a year of the food survey.
The
study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology &
Community Health, found that fresh vegetables had the
strongest protective effect, with each daily portion reducing
overall risk of death by 16%. Salad contributed to a 13% risk
reduction per portion, and each portion of fresh fruit was
associated with a smaller but still significant 4% reduction.
"We
all know that eating fruit and vegetables is healthy, but the size
of the effect is staggering," says Dr Oyinlola Oyebode of UCL's
Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, lead author of the
study. "The clear message here is that the more fruit and
vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any age.
Vegetables have a larger effect than fruit, but fruit still makes a
real difference. If you're happy to snack on carrots or other
vegetables, then that is a great choice but if you fancy something
sweeter, a banana or any fruit will also do you good."
The
findings lend support to the Australian government's 'Go for 2 + 5'
guidelines, which recommend eating two portions of fruit and five
of vegetables. The UK Department of Health recommends '5 a day',
while 'Fruit and Veggies -- More Matters' is the key message in the
USA.
"Our
study shows that people following Australia's 'Go for 2 + 5' advice
will reap huge health benefits," says Dr Oyebode. "However, people
shouldn't feel daunted by a big target like seven. Whatever your
starting point, it is always worth eating more fruit and
vegetables. In our study even those eating one to three portions
had a significantly lower risk than those eating less than one"
The
researchers found no evidence of significant benefit from fruit
juice, and canned and frozen fruit appeared to increase risk of
death by 17% per portion. The survey did not distinguish between
canned and frozen fruit so this finding is difficult to interpret.
Canned fruit products are almost four times more popular than
frozen fruit in Europe*, so it is likely that canned fruit
dominated this effect.
"Most
canned fruit contains high sugar levels and cheaper varieties are
packed in syrup rather than fruit juice," explains Dr Oyebode. "The
negative health impacts of the sugar may well outweigh any
benefits. Another possibility is that there are confounding factors
that we could not control for, such as poor access to fresh
groceries among people who have pre-existing health conditions,
hectic lifestyles or who live in deprived areas."
*Note:
13.0m tons of canned fruit and vegetables were sold in the EU in
2008 compared to 3.7m for frozen fruit and vegetables.
Story Source:
The
above story is based on materials provided
by University College
London. Note: Materials may be edited for
content and length.
