More fruits and veggies help you live longer — but only up to a point
Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
No reduction in cancer mortality despite decades of public health messaging.
Most people believe fruits and veggies prevent cancer — this study of 16,817 cancer deaths found zero meaningful link.
Practical Takeaways
Aim for 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables daily — that’s the sweet spot for maximum longevity benefit.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
No reduction in cancer mortality despite decades of public health messaging.
Most people believe fruits and veggies prevent cancer — this study of 16,817 cancer deaths found zero meaningful link.
Practical Takeaways
Aim for 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables daily — that’s the sweet spot for maximum longevity benefit.
Publication
Journal
The BMJ
Year
2014
Authors
Xia Wang, Yingying Ouyang, Jun Liu, Minmin Zhu, Gang Zhao, W. Bao, F. Hu
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Claims (10)
Consumption of modern, selectively bred fruits and vegetables is associated with improved health outcomes in human populations.
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.
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.
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.
Eating fruit every day is linked to living longer, but eating more than two servings a day doesn’t make much of a difference.