Eating more fruit would save lives

The messages about eating five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a day may be widely known if not completely understood, but new research published in the  Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has found that in the UK, some 33,000 deaths each year could be prevented or delayed if individuals ate more fresh produce and cut salt and fat consumption to recommended levels.

 

The study looked at a number of studies and input the findings into a conceptual model in order to calculate the number of lives that could be saved if more people met dietary recommendations, like  eating  440g of fruit and vegetables, 18g of fibre, 6g salt and take a third of their total energy intake from fats each day.

 

However, a lower salt intake could cut more deaths even more say the researchers who recommend that the daily intake of salt should be just 3.5g, and saturated fats should be just three percent of total energy intake.

 

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