An article in Over Sixty magazine describes a study from Imperial College in London that found eating 10 helpings of fruit and vegetables a day is better than eating the minimum recommended five. Researchers looked at ‘all’ available evidence worldwide, encompassing around 2 million people, assessing 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.
Compared with someone who eats no fruit and vegetables, a ten-a-day consumer’s risk of heart disease in 24 per cent lower, and has a 31 per cent lower risk of premature death. A spokesperson said that because of the complex network of nutrients held by whole plant foods, taking dietary supplements to compensate is not sufficient.