Browse evidence-based analysis of health-related claims and assertions
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.
Correlational
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.
Descriptive
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.
People who eat more fruits and veggies also tend to exercise more, not smoke, and eat healthier overall — so it’s hard to say if the fruits and veggies themselves are the reason they live longer.
The link between eating more fruits and veggies and living longer holds true whether people live in the US, Europe, or Asia, even if they eat different kinds of produce.
Eating more fruits and veggies doesn’t seem to lower the chance of dying from cancer, based on the available evidence.
People who eat more fruits and veggies have a slightly lower chance of dying from heart disease, and both fruits and veggies contribute to this benefit.
Eating vegetables every day is linked to living longer, but eating more than three servings a day doesn’t help much more.
Eating fruit every day is linked to living longer, but eating more than two servings a day doesn’t make much of a difference.
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.