We’ve
all been told to eat our vegetables, and even if we don’t like it, we
know they’re good for us. But a new study shows just how good for our
longevity they may be.
Seven or more portions of fruit and
vegetables a day can lower your risk of dying by an astonishing 42%,
according to a new study published in the Journal of Epidemiology &
Community Health. The more fruits and vegetables the participants ate,
the less likely they were to die at any age, and the protective benefit
increased with consumption. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
recommends anywhere between one to two cups of fruit daily and one to
three cups of vegetables daily, depending on age and gender. Their
slogan follows, “Fruit and veggies — more matters.” Australia advises
eating two portions of fruit and five of vegetables, and in the U.K.,
the slogan is: “5 a day.”
When compared with consuming less than
one portion of fruit and vegetables a day, the risk of death by any
cause was 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. Eating seven or more portions also specifically reduced the risk
of dying from cancer by 25%, and heart disease by 31%.
“The clear message here is that the more
fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any
age,” lead study author Oyinlola Oyebode, of University College London’s
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, said in a statement.
“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 study is the first to associate
eating fruits and vegetables with all-cause, cancer and heart-disease
deaths in a nationally representative population, and to quantify the
benefits by portions. Researchers looked at results from the Health
Survey for England between 2001 and 2013, which detailed the eating
habits of 65,226 people.
Source: TIME
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