Human heart favors rich fruit-veggie diet: study

More than 100,000 people participated in a complex study to measure the effects of rich &to=http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/13751_diet.html' target=_blank>fruit and veggie diet on cardio vascular system.

But the analysis failed to show similar benefits for cancer, a result that prompted the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, which published the study yesterday, to raise questions about its findings. The report supports the American Heart Association's recommendations to consume at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, reports, The Washington Times.

According to Nutra Ingredients, &to=http://english.pravda.ru/society/2001/12/01/22650.html' target=_blank>cancer and coronary heart disease account for 60 per cent of all early deaths, according to the UK’s department of health, which declares on its website that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is the second most important cancer prevention strategy, after reducing smoking.

But researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston say the overall associations between fruit and vegetables and cardiovascular disease and cancer have rarely been evaluated in large cohort studies.

In an analysis of different groups of fruits and vegetables, consumption of green leafy vegetables showed the strongest inverse association with both cardiovascular disease and major chronic disease (cancer and cardiovascular disease combined).