FRUIT AND VEG ARE GOOD – BUT YOU DON’T NEED TO OVERDO IT

GUIDELINES recommend eating five portions of fruit and veg every day. And most surveys suggest we are actually doing pretty well already, with the average Briton consuming four portions a day. But might that be too little?

Recent research suggested we may need to double our efforts to protect against cancer and early death.

A major study from experts at Imperial College London suggested that ten portions a day reduced the risk of cancer overall by 13 per cent.

If we all did it, millions of lives could be saved, it was claimed.

So what is it about munching through vast quantities of veg that has this magical effect?

According to the World Cancer Research Fund, fruit and non-starchy vegetables contain compounds such as fibre, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, that have the potential to fight tumours.

But it is hard to actually know if this is the reason lower cancer rates are seen in people who eat lots of them.

A recent Cambridge study of more than 50,000 British households found that people with more money spent more on ‘healthier’ foods – rather than those which are high in calories, fats, refined starches and sugars – and bought more fruit and vegetables. By contrast, those with less to spend bought less fresh fruit and veg and more high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie foods.

And it’s been shown in many studies that those who are better off are more likely to do other things that are healthy, such as exercise, and not smoke or drink too much.

Interestingly, findings from an ongoing European study that is tracking nearly half a million people to investigate the relationships between diet, lifestyle and cancer found that those who followed a pescatarian diet – eating fish but not meat – had a lower colorectal cancer risk compared to people who were completely veggie and those who ate meat, but not much fish.

In veggies and omnivores, the risk of colorectal cancer did not differ. So it could be fish that’s protective.

Hilary Powers, emeritus professor of nutritional biochemistry at Sheffield University, says the main message to take away is that ‘eating some fruit and veg is better than none’.

She adds: ‘It’s important to understand that eating some fruit and vegetables each day, rather than none at all, can significantly reduce the risk of some cancers.’