Stroke deaths linked to not eating enough fruits

◗ Fruits and vegetables are good sources of fibre, potassium, magnesium, antioxidants and phenolics, which have been shown to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol

Washington: Inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption may account for millions of deaths from heart disease and strokes each year across the globe, a study has found.

The study estimated that roughly one in seven cardiovascular deaths could be attributed to not eating enough fruit and one in 12 cardiovascular deaths could be attributed to not eating enough vegetables.

Low fruit intake resulted in nearly 1.8 million cardiovascular deaths in 2010, while low vegetable intake resulted in one million deaths, researchers said.

Overall, the toll of suboptimal fruit intake was almost double that of vegetables. The impacts were most acute in countries with the lowest average intakes of fruits and vegetables.

“Fruits and vegetables are a modifiable component of diet that can impact preventable deaths globally,” said Victoria Miller, a postdoctoral researcher at Tufts University in the US.

“Our findings indicate the need for populationbased efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption throughout the world,” Miller said.

Fruits and vegetables are good sources of fibre, potassium, magnesium, antioxidants and phenolics, which have been shown to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.

Fresh fruits and vegetables also improve the health and diversity of good bacteria in the digestive tract.

People who eat more of these foods also are less likely to be overweight or obese, lowering their risk of cardiovascular disease.

“Global nutrition priorities have traditionally focused on providing sufficient calories, vitamin supplementation and reducing additives like salt and sugar,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, from the Tufts University.

“These findings indicate a need to expand the focus to increasing availability and consumption of protective foods like fruits, vegetables and legumes —a positive message with tremendous potential for improving global health,” said Mozaffarian.

Based on dietary guidelines and studies of cardiovascular risk factors, the researchers defined optimal fruit intake as 300 grammes per day.