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Forget five a day, eat 10 portions of fruit and veg to cut risk of ear... https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/23/five-day-10-por...

Forget five a day, eat 10 portions of fruit and


veg to cut risk of early death
Scientists say even just 2.5 daily portions can lower chance of heart disease, stroke,
cancer and premature death

A boy plays in a mass of English beef tomatoes on a fruit and vegetable stall in Brighton. Tomatoes are also an excellent
source of vitamin C. Photograph: Alamy

Sarah Boseley Health editor


Thursday 23 February 2017 00.01GMT

Five portions of fruit and veg a day is good for you, but 10 is much better and could
prevent up to 7.8 million premature deaths worldwide every year, say scientists.

The ndings of the study led by Imperial College London may dismay the two in three
adults who struggle to manage three or four portions perhaps some tomatoes in a
sandwich at lunchtime, an apple and a few spoonfuls of peas at dinner.

All of that is good because a daily intake of even 200g, or two and a half standard 80g
portions, is associated with a 16% reduced risk of heart disease, an 18% reduced risk of
stroke, a 13% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, 4% reduced risk of cancer and a
15% reduction in the risk of premature death.

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Forget five a day, eat 10 portions of fruit and veg to cut risk of ear... https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/23/five-day-10-por...

But the study suggests we should be piling up platefuls of vegetables and raiding the
fruit bowl every day if we want the best chance of avoiding chronic diseases or an early
death.

We wanted to investigate how much fruit and vegetables you need to eat to gain the
maximum protection against disease, and premature death. Our results suggest that
although ve portions of fruit and vegetables is good, 10 a day is even better, said Dr
Dagnn Aune, lead author of the research from the School of Public Health at Imperial.

Eating up to 800g of fruit and vegetables equivalent to 10 portions and double the
recommended amount in the UK was associated with a 24% reduced risk of heart
disease, a 33% reduced risk of stroke, a 28% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, a
13% reduced risk of total cancer, and a 31% reduction in premature deaths.

And not all fruit and veg are created equal. Apples and pears, citrus fruits, salads and
green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce and chicory, and cruciferous vegetables
such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliower were found to be best at preventing heart
disease and stroke.

To reduce the risk of cancer, however, the menu should include green vegetables, such
as green beans; yellow and orange vegetables such as peppers and carrots; and
cruciferous vegetables.

The researchers did not nd any dierence between the protective eects of cooked and
raw fruit and vegetables.

Fruit and vegetables have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and
to boost the health of our blood vessels and immune system, said Aune. This may be
due to the complex network of nutrients they hold. For instance they contain many
antioxidants, which may reduce DNA damage, and lead to a reduction in cancer risk.

Compounds called glucosinolates in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, activate


enzymes that may help prevent cancer. Fruit and vegetables may also have a benecial
eect on the naturally occurring bacteria in our gut, he said.

Most people struggle to eat three or four portions a day, the


study shows. Photograph: Simon Masters/Getty Images/Vetta

And it will not be possible to bottle the eects of fruit and vegetables or put them in a
pill, he said. Forget the supplements. Most likely it is the whole package of benecial

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Forget five a day, eat 10 portions of fruit and veg to cut risk of ear... https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/23/five-day-10-por...

nutrients you obtain by eating fruits and vegetables that is crucial to health, he said.
This is why it is important to eat whole plant foods to get the benet, instead of taking
antioxidant or vitamin supplements (which have not been shown to reduce disease
risk).

The analysis in the International Journal of Epidemiology pooled the results from 95
dierent studies involving a total of approximately 2 million people. They assessed up to
43,000 cases of heart disease, 47,000 cases of stroke, 81,000 cases of cardiovascular
disease, 112,000 cancer cases and 94,000 deaths.

Aune said more research was needed, but it is clear from this work that a high intake of
fruit and vegetables hold tremendous health benets, and we should try to increase
their intake in our diet.

Sarah Toule, from the World Cancer Research Fund, said: This interesting research
shows just how incredibly important vegetables and fruit are as part of a healthy diet. In
fact, theyre essential for maintaining a healthy weight, which our own evidence has
shown reduces the risk of 11 common cancers.

People should aim to eat at least ve portions of vegetables and fruit a day but the more
the better. If people nd this hard, why not start by adding an extra portion of fruit or
veg a day to your lunch or try swapping one of your naughty snacks for a piece of fruit?

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