Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are an important—if often neglected—part of the modern diet. Just how important, though?
Well, a recent study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has found that eating seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables lowers a person’s risk of death by forty-two per cent compared to someone eating six servings; you can imagine how poorly the one-to-no fruits and vegitables group did.
Obviously, that’s a pretty big difference in mortality rate, considering that one fewer servings of fruits and vegetables is about a scant eighty grams fewer per day. Still, those servings add up. According to Dr Oyinlola Oyebode, lead author of the study, “The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any age. Vegetables have a larger effect than fruit, but fruit still makes a real difference. If you’re happy to snack on carrots or other vegetables, then that is a great choice but if you fancy something sweeter, a banana or any fruit will also do you good.”
