UK Health Radio Medical News Update - Five a day is enough!

UK Health Radio – Medical News Update

Five a day is enough!

The BBC have reported that new research backs the five-a-day target for fruit and vegetable intake, but suggests that any more is unlikely to have any added benefits.

An analysis of 16 worldwide studies suggested that for every portion of fruit and vegetables consumed, there was a lower risk of premature death. There have been calls to up the quota to seven-a-day, to prolong lives however it seems that after five portions a day, there is no further impact, researchers reported in The British Medical Journal.

Current NHS guidance is to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day although most people manage about four so the message to eat more fruit and veg is still very much in place.

The new analysis looked at 16 studies in the US, Asia and Europe involving more than 833,000 people, of whom about 56,000 died during the follow-up period.

Researchers in the US and China found eating more fruit and vegetables was linked with a lower risk of dying from any cause, particularly from cardiovascular disease.

The average risk of death fell by about 5% for every extra serving of fruit and vegetables, up to five servings a day, but not beyond.

Prof Frank Hu, of Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston, USA said "This analysis provides further evidence that a higher consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, particularly cardiovascular mortality. There was a threshold around five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, after which the risk of all cause mortality did not reduce further."

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio – Medical News Update

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