Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Linked to Reduced Mortality

Eating an apple—or two—a day really may keep the doctor away. Recently published research shows a link between reduced mortality and eating your fruits and vegetables.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health and related organizations, two studies and a meta-analysis were examined by a team from Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. 

The two studies analyzed data from 1984 through 2014 from about 108,000 men and women, all of whom were initially free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The participants were followed for about 30 years, answering questions about their diet every few years. The resulting data were combined with results from the meta-analysis of 24 other studies involving 1.8 million participants.   

It was found that mortality decreased as fruit and vegetable intake increased. Eating an average of five servings a day resulted in a 13% lower risk of death than eating two servings daily. However, eating more than five servings a day showed no benefit in reduction of mortality. Fruit consumption and vegetable consumption were equally beneficial to mortality risk reduction.

The data showed that consumption of fruit and vegetables reduced death from cardiovascular and respiratory disease, while eating more fruit was associated with reduced cancer mortality. Consumption of vegetables high in starch as well as fruit juice was not linked to lower mortality risk.

The study, which was observational, accounted for age and physical activity and some other health factors but not the participants’ overall diet.

The average American diet includes one serving of fruit and 1.5 servings of vegetables per day, which is about half the amount recommended by health professionals and confirmed by this new research.