Browse evidence-based analysis of health-related claims and assertions
Many of the studies used in this review had weaknesses, like not fully accounting for factors like weight or family history of diabetes, which means we should be cautious about trusting the results too much.
Descriptive
Eating more carrots, sweet potatoes, and other orange or dark green veggies is linked to a lower chance of getting cancer, more than other types of vegetables.
Correlational
Even when researchers looked at different groups of people, different ways of measuring diet, or different countries, eating more leafy greens still seemed to be linked to lower diabetes risk, which makes the finding more reliable.
Eating more fruits and veggies is linked to a small but real drop in the chance of getting cancer, but eating more than about 6 servings a day doesn’t help much more.
Eating more fruit and vegetables together doesn't seem to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a review of four large studies tracking thousands of adults over many years.
People who eat a lot of canned or sweetened fruit are more likely to die earlier than those who eat fresh fruit, possibly because of added sugar or processing.
Eating more vegetables like carrots or broccoli doesn't appear to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a review of five large studies tracking thousands of adults over many years.
People who eat more apples and pears each day are less likely to die from any cause, with each serving adding up to a meaningful drop in death risk over time.
Eating more fruit doesn't seem to lower the risk of getting type 2 diabetes, according to a review of five large studies tracking thousands of adults over many years.
Eating more oranges, grapefruits, and other citrus fruits is linked to a lower chance of having a stroke, with each extra serving helping a bit more.
People who eat more leafy greens like spinach and kale tend to have a lower chance of getting type 2 diabetes, according to studies tracking thousands of adults over many years.
People who eat more spinach, kale, and other dark leafy greens have a much lower risk of heart disease than those who eat little or none, even after accounting for other healthy habits.
Eating more broccoli, cabbage, and similar veggies is linked to a small but noticeable drop in the chance of getting any kind of cancer, especially when people eat them regularly compared to rarely.
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.
Eating more fruits and vegetables—especially up to about 8 servings a day—lowers your chance of having a stroke, with the biggest drop in risk coming from just adding a few servings to your usual diet.
People who eat more fruits and veggies each day—up to about 8 servings—are less likely to get heart disease, with the biggest drop in risk happening when they go from eating very little to eating a moderate amount.
This conclusion is based on data from over 800,000 people tracked for up to 26 years, with researchers adjusting for many other health factors, making the results very reliable.
The idea that five servings a day is the sweet spot for living longer comes from the data in this study — it doesn’t mean your body needs exactly five, just that eating more than that didn’t help more in these studies.
Quantitative
Just because eating more fruits and veggies doesn’t lower overall cancer deaths doesn’t mean it doesn’t help prevent certain kinds of cancer — we just didn’t look closely enough at each type.
Fruits and veggies might help the heart by lowering blood pressure and reducing artery damage, but this study didn’t prove how — it just saw a link.
Mechanistic
Whether the study included mostly men or women, lasted a long time or a short time, or was rated high or low quality, the link between eating more fruits and veggies and living longer stayed about the same.
Even if some studies with negative results were missing, the overall finding that eating more fruits and veggies is linked to living longer still holds up.
Even after accounting for exercise, calorie intake, and income level, eating more fruits and veggies still shows a link to lower heart disease death rates.
Because people often misremember or misreport how much fruit and veggies they eat, the real benefit might be even stronger than what the study found.