A study published March 1 by the American Heart Association found that the more servings of fruits and vegetables study subjects ate each day—up to an optimum number of five servings—the less their likelihood of dying from cancer, cardio-vascular or respiratory diseases. The findings suggest that three servings of vegetables and two of fruit—excluding peas, corn, fruit juices and potatoes—provide the lowest risk of long-term mortality.
The researchers examined data from 67,000 women and 42,000 men who were free of cancer and heart disease at the outset of the study period. They reviewed as many as 30 years of follow-up with the study group and examined associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and both total and cause-specific deaths.
The authors note that the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans call for 2 1⁄2 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit per day, while the World Health Organization, the World Cancer Research Fund and the England’s National Health Service all advise 5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day.
In 2015, the Centers for Disease Control found that Americans were behind the curve, with only 9 percent of adults eating recommended amounts of vegetables and 12 percent of adults eating recommended amounts of fruit.
