5 Servings of Fruits and Veggies = Lower All-Cause Mortality

Five portions of fruits and vegetables daily are crucial to lowering all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease, according to a recent study.

In the past, studies have shown that heightened vegetable and fruit intake is pivotal in reducing all-cause death, but the results from those past studies have varied in consistency.
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Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 16 studies, evaluating data from 833,234 participants and adjusting the results for differences in data quality and study design. The data included 56,423 deaths.

The study showed that significantly lower all-cause death risk—including cardiovascular disease—was associated to a higher intake of fruits and vegetables.

For every additional fruit and vegetable consumed (daily), researchers discovered a mean 5% reduction risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease.

The investigators further noted that a higher intake of fruits and vegetables did not appear to reduce the risk of cancer. They suggested that further studies would need to be conducted to examine specific types of cancer and the effects from consuming various fruit groups.

The complete study is published in the July issue of The British Medical Journal.

-Michelle Canales

Reference:

Wang X, Ouyang Y, Liu J, et al. Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMJ. 2014 July [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g4490.