Don’t OD on the veggies
Three servings a day all you need
AS little as three servings of fruit and vegetables a day are enough to starve off heart attacks, stroke and death and any more offers no benefit.
Australian guidelines recommend adults consume two fruits and five vegetables, which is about 675g, a day. But a study of more than 135,000 people discovered just three to four large serves of fruit, legumes and vegetables, about 375-400g, is protective against heart disease, stroke and death.
Additional serves were found to do nothing beneficial for cardiovascular problems or death. The analysis of the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study, published in The Lancet, found the mean intake for fruit, vegetables and legumes was 3.91 serves.
“Our findings that even three servings per day (375g/ day) show similar benefit against the risk of non-cardiovascular and total mortality as higher intakes indicates that optimal health benefits can be achieved with a more modest level of consumption,” the researchers from The McMaster University in Canada said.
When three to four serves of fruit, vegetables and legumes were consumed, compared to fewer than one serving a day, the risk of death dropped by 35 per cent with a 27 per cent drop in cardiovascular death. Raw vegetables were found to be especially beneficial.
Under Nutrition Australia guidelines one serve of vegetables is 75g while one serve of fruit is 150g but only 5.1 per cent of Australians met the guidelines.
Nutritionist Bel-inda Kirkpatrick said people can easily sneak extra fruit and veg into their diets.
“It isn’t that hard to add baby spinach to a meal or have a carrot at work for afternoon tea,” Ms Kirkpatrick said. “Any increase is going to be a good thing.”