Five Servings of Fruits and Vegetables Enough to Boost Life Expectancy: Study

Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables daily is enough to curb the risk of early mortality, according to study.

Fruits and vegetables contain micronutrients, macronutrients and fiber needed for everyday functioning and repair in the body. Some clinical researches say that regular intake of fruits and vegetables averts possibility of developing serious illnesses and dying from heart attack, strokes, cancer and diabetes while, other studies offer confounding views on benefits of an organic diet. A recent analysis by experts from Harvard School of Public Health and Shandong University in China suggests five portions of fruits and vegetables a day reduce the possibility of dying from illnesses by 24 percent.

Each fruit portion was defined as having two or more plums or citrus fruits, seven strawberries or 14 cherries, one apple, banana and pear. One portion of vegetable contained almost three table spoons of cooked carrots, peas and eight florets of cauliflower, reports the Express.Co.UK.

Their study found eating additional servings has no impact on the health and body. The researchers reviewed 16 studies involving over 800,000 people whose health status and daily diet regime were observed for almost 26 years.

Their findings revealed each serving of fruits and vegetables lowered overall death risk by 5 percent and stroke and heart attack risk by 4 percent. But, the study noted each portion of vegetarian diet had no effect in reducing susceptibility for cancer.

"This meta-analysis provides further evidence that higher consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of mortality from all causes, particularly from cardiovascular diseases. The results support current recommendations to increase consumption to promote health and overall longevity," said Xia Wang, study author and instructor in nutrition at Shandong University, reports the Telegraph.

"We observed a threshold at around five servings a day, after which there was no further reduction in risk," adds Wang.

More information is available online British Medical Journal.