Eating more than five servings of fruits and veggies a day doesn’t make you any less likely to die early — five is the sweet spot.

Scientific Claim

The protective association between fruit and vegetable intake and mortality plateaus at approximately 5 servings per day, with no further reduction in risk observed at intakes exceeding this level, suggesting a biological saturation point.

Original Statement

“Intake of ≈5 servings per day of fruit and vegetables... was associated with the lowest mortality, and above that level, higher intake was not associated with additional risk reduction.”

From study:Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

association

Can only show association/correlation

Assessment Explanation

The claim accurately describes the observed plateau using associative language, consistent with the statistical modeling and findings of the study.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality

Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

Human

Eating about 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day lowers your risk of dying, but eating more than that doesn’t make you any safer — it’s like filling a cup: once it’s full, pouring more doesn’t help.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality

Score: 66

DOI: 10.1161/circulationaha.120.048996

Similar Assertions

Eating more fruits and veggies each day is linked to living longer, but eating more than five servings a day doesn't help much more.

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People who eat more fruits and vegetables each day—up to about 10 servings—are less likely to die from any cause, with the biggest drop in death risk coming from adding even a few servings to their daily meals.

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People who eat about five servings of fruits and veggies a day tend to live longer than those who eat only two, but eating more than five doesn’t make them live any longer.

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Whether you’re young or old, smoke or don’t, are overweight or not — eating five servings of fruits and veggies a day still helps lower your risk of dying early.

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