(20-02-11) Eight servings a day of fruits and vegetables keep the doctor away

by John Phillip

(NaturalNews) Researchers publishing in the European Heart Journal have
released the result of a study examining the diet of more than 300,000 men and
women from eight European countries. They found that those individuals eating
the most fruits and vegetable servings per day experienced the lowest level of
ischemic heart disease (IHD), the most common form of the illness.

Ischemic heart disease is characterized by a reduced blood supply to the heart
due to narrowed vessels from coronary plaque or chronic levels of inflammation
that constrict blood flow. The end result is a greatly increased risk of heart
attack as blood flow to the critical organ is shut off.

Data from this research comes from the long-running European Prospective
Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study that began in 1992. An
analysis shows that people eating at least eight servings of fresh fruits and
vegetables each day have a 22% lower risk of dying from IHD compared to those
taking less than three daily servings. A serving is defined as approximately 80
grams or the equivalent of a small banana or medium apple.

Dietary analysis was determined by using a standard questionnaire, and factors
including health, socio-economic status, and lifestyle, as well as smoking,
drinking and exercise habits were taken into account. Dr. Francesca Crowe of
the University of Oxford in England observed "This study involved over 300,000
people in eight different European countries, with 1,636 deaths from IHD. It
shows a 4% reduced risk of dying from IHD for each additional portion of fruit
and vegetables consumed."

In an effort to better understand the result of data collected over the eight
and a half year course of this leg of the study, researchers made allowances
for external factors such as differences in lifestyle and eating habits. The
researchers did caution that people tend to report a higher intake of fruits
and vegetables when completing questionnaires and that may skew the results
slightly in either direction.

The final analysis of this leg of the EPIC study provides conclusive evidence
that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables have a consistent and
measurable impact on the risk of death from a heart attack. Professor Michael
Marmot, director of the University College London in an accompanying editorial
explains, "Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death. A
reduction of 22% is huge. Reductions in cancers of several sites, in blood
pressure and stroke, would add to this reduction in fatal CHD. Moving to a diet
that emphasizes fruit and vegetables is of great importance to public health."

The association between lowered heart attack risk and increased consumption of
fresh fruits and vegetables is well known among health-minded people. The
ongoing results from the EPIC study continue to reinforce the importance of a
diet high in natural foods to maintain health and lower the risk from ischemic
heart disease.

Article References:
http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org...
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...
http://www.bmedreport.com/archives/...

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