So what’s the best way to eat a healthy diet? Researchers now say recommending people eat five fruits and vegetables per day simply isn’t enough–instead, you need to eat more.
Their findings, now published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, reveals that those who ate at least seven portions of fruits and vegetables daily were 42 percent less likely to die from any sort of cause, including diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
“The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any age,” says Dr. Oyinlola Oyebode from the University College London Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. “My advice would be however much you are eating now, eat more.”
Examining the eating habits of more than 60,000 people in England, Oyebode and researchers tracked their eating habits for a total of 12 years, and found that those who ate between five to seven portions per day faced a 36 percent reduced risk of death from any cause. Those who stuck with the original recommendation of around five servings per day didn’t fare as well, however–they were 7 percent more likely to diet from disease.
Worse yet was the news for those who simply didn’t eat vegetables and fruits at all–they were 22 percent more likely to die.
“We need to urgently examine seriously the proposal to increase recommended intake to seven a day,” says Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow. “To implement a seven-a-day message would be really challenging for many in society and would require governmental support such as subsiding the cost of fruit and vegetables, perhaps by taxing sugar-rich foods.”
In addition, researchers found that vegetables helped reduce a person’s mortality risk more than a serving of fruit. In their findings, one additional serving of vegetables lowered their risk of death by an additional 16 percent–it isn’t clear why this is the case, though Oyebode suggests it may have to do with its high sugar content.
“Certainly fruit juice is full of micronutrients and currently in the UK we are advised that we can count up to one portion of fruit juice towards our five-a-day,” says Oyebode. “Other experts have suggested that due to the lack of fiber and high sugar content in fruit juice, it should no longer be considered healthy. Our results do suggest that fruit juice doesn’t offer the same health benefits that fresh and dried fruit offer and this may add weight to the opinion that it should not count toward the five-a-day.”
Their suggestion? It’s probably better to focus on eating more vegetables than fruits, and make sure to eat a lot–they recommend having up to 10 servings in your diet to ward off disease and early death. It’s best to eat fresh produce as well; frozen or canned selections weren’t found to be as nutritious.
Readers: How many fruits and vegetables do you get in your diet?
Sources:
News: Researchers Recommend Increasing Vegetable, Fruit Intake to Reduce Death Risk – MedicalNewsToday.com
Healthy Diet Means 10 Portions of Fruits and Vegetables Per Day – Telegraph.co.uk
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