• Home
  • About
    • About me
    • About Nutritionists
    • About this Site
    • Disclaimer
  • Your Kitchen Guide
    • Choosing Fruit & Veg
    • Kitchen Cupboard
    • Knife Skills
    • Cooking Measurements
  • Meat-Free Recipes
    • Vegan & Vegetarian Spice Recipes
  • Topics
    • Lifestyle & Dieting
    • Men’s Health
    • Nutrition & Mental Health
    • Sports & Exercise Nutrition
    • Nutrition & Physical Health
    • Vitamins, Minerals & Nutrients
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Nutrition Research News Highlights

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr

Search

it's about nutrition

Evidence-Based Look at Diets & Nutrition

Fruit & Vegetables–the more the better?
Reviews

Fruit & Vegetables–the more the better?

February 26, 2017
Share

Last Updated on January 6th, 2018

Headlines this week suggested that eating a whopping ten portions of fruit and vegetables a day reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer.

This week, the news headlines included a shocking revelation that many of us may need to double the government recommendation of 5-a-day to secure the benefits of long term health and old age. Some of us struggle to even make it to five, so why ten and would eight do or would eating even higher than ten bring even more benefits?

The study

The number ten was based on a huge project conducted by Imperial College London, where researchers looked at 95 individual population studies on fruit and vegetable intake and collected together all those results and pooled them into a statistical test known as a meta analysis.

This study included up to 2million people who between them had 43,000 cases of heart disease, 47,000 cases of stroke, 81,000 cases of other cardiovascular disease,  and 112,000 cases of cancer. They found that increasing fruit and vegetables reduced these risks by every 80-100g portion (up to 800g) we consumed. If we ate 800g (10 portions), we would experience:

  • 24% reduction in the risk of heart disease
  • 33% reduction in the risk of stroke
  • 28% reduction in the risk of other cardiovascular diseases
  • 13% reduction in the total risk of cancer (some cancers will come out higher than others)
  • 31% reduction in the risk of a premature death

It is not known whether eating even more than 10 portions would further reduce the risk, since ten was the maximum any one study looked at.

 

Beneficial foods

The researchers also looked at whether specific fruits and vegetables had particular effects.

They found the following:

Reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and cardiovascular diseases:

  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Citrus fruits
  • Salad vegetables
  • Leafy greens such as spinach, chicory or lettuce
  • Cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage

Reducing the risk of cancer:

  • Green vegetables (Spinach, green beans)
  • Yellow vegetables (carrots, peppers)
  • Cruciferous vegetables

It didn’t seem to matter whether fruits and vegetables were raw or cooked, although further studies are required on cooking methods and long term health benefits.

Precisely why fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of disease is most likely beyond that of their vitamin content. For example, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and stroke could be due to the fibre which has shown in some studies to help the reduction of blood cholesterol and keep blood pressure in check.

Furthermore, most vegetables contain unique compounds known as phytochemicals, which include polyphenols and flavonoids. Many studies are now showing that different phytochemicals appear to have robust antioxidant properties, which can help the immune system fight off cancer.

Read more

Imperial College London news release: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_22-2-2017-16-38-0

Gemini Research news: http://geminiresearchnews.com/2017/02/eight-day-clearly-best-heart/

From It’s About Nutrition:

Fruit and vegetables give you a sexy glow

Flavonoids may help with weight gain

Beat your cancer odds

Seb Bowden

Seb is a writer and blogger of food and nutrition. He holds a bachelors and a masters degree in nutrition science, and has studied sports and exercise nutrition at postgraduate level. He specialises in plant-based nutrition and believes passionately that we can all live with a little less meat. He writes for www.veggieandspice.com and www.itsaboutnutrition.com

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Tags:

  • Cancer
  • ,
  • fruit
  • ,
  • heart disease
  • ,
  • stroke
  • ,
  • vegetables

Post navigation

Mindful eating–what is it?
The Lowdown on the Alkaline Diet

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Your details will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Most Read

  • Can Diet Cause Man-Boobs?Can Diet Cause Man-Boobs?
  • Should Men Avoid Flax and Soya?Should Men Avoid Flax and Soya?
  • Is That Low Carb Diet Killing You?Is That Low Carb Diet Killing You?
  • 2019 Top 5 Health Tips2019 Top 5 Health Tips
  • Can Melatonin Prevent Headaches?Can Melatonin Prevent Headaches?

Do you need supplements?

http://itsaboutnutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/lumen5-video.mp4

Advertisement

Plant-Based Recipes

Veggie & Spice Check out our sister site for a range of plant-based recipes that showcase some of the world’s favourite curries and spice-based dishes! Latest addition: Jackfruit Rendang

Translate

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Google +

So what do you think? Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Copyright © it's about nutrition 2019
Cressida by LyraThemes.com
Share
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: