You've heard the message for eating 5 a day of fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet, but few of us seem able to actually do this. In fact, most Americans get about three servings of fruits/veggies a day, even though more and more science backs up how good these foods are for our heart.
Now new research finds that the recommended five servings might be far too low... eating 8 portions a day is what's needed to really lower the risk of death from heart disease.
Recent work estimates that over 15,000 deaths each year could be prevented if all of us tried to meet the five-a-day minimum.
Data for this latest study came from examining the diet and lifestyle of over 300,000 adult subjects, aged 40 to 85 years old, in eight different European countries. The participants answered questions about diet, health, socio-economic status and lifestyle (smoking, drinking, exercise). They were followed for almost eight and a half years, during which there were just over 1,600 deaths from heart disease.
This latest research found that those who consumed at least 8 portions of fruits/veggies a day had a 22% reduced risk of death from heart disease compared to those who had a paltry three portions each day. Each added portion was associated with a 4% reduced risk of death. A portion was 80 grams - a small banana, medium apple or small carrot.
The average servings of fruits and veggies for the research subjects was five servings per day. Southern European countries came out tops in fruit and veggie eating. Italian men ate 7.5 portions each day, while Spanish women had 6.7 portions of fruits/veggies.
In Northern Europe the diets were less healthy with U.K. men eating just 4.1 servings a day; and women 4.8 portions. The Swedes were the worst in terms of fruit/veggie consumption.
Those who ate the most servings of fruit and veggies were slightly healthier overall, and this may play a role in the findings of the work. It may be that those who eat lots of fruits and veggies live an overall healthier lifestyle. Or there may be something (yet undiscovered) in these foods that helps the heart.
Living healthy overall, as well as getting enough fruits and veggies, is so important. You need to stop smoking, control high blood pressure or cholesterol, and keep yourself at a healthy weight to be making all the moves necessary to keep your body, and your heart, healthy. And while adding three more servings of fruits/veggies a day might seem daunting, adding one, for now, is certainly a goal most of us can achieve.
The guiding message from the research is that eating fruits and veggies is good for your heart, and your whole body. Eating 5 a day of these tasty treats should really be considered the starting point - a minimum that all of us should reach each day.
FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from Daily Health Bulletin and click the link now to discover more about the importance of eating 5 a day and how a diet full of fruits and vegetables can benefit your health.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6019370
P.S. I would like to hear from you! Please put a comment below about this post, your opinion or suggestion might be valuable to someone! I promise to answer every question you may have or a discussion you might want to start!
Also share the blog posts on your social media! If you like the blog, you can subscribe to our email list using the link http://bit.ly/2Nwlbth
Thank you for your time and participation!
Now new research finds that the recommended five servings might be far too low... eating 8 portions a day is what's needed to really lower the risk of death from heart disease.
Recent work estimates that over 15,000 deaths each year could be prevented if all of us tried to meet the five-a-day minimum.
Data for this latest study came from examining the diet and lifestyle of over 300,000 adult subjects, aged 40 to 85 years old, in eight different European countries. The participants answered questions about diet, health, socio-economic status and lifestyle (smoking, drinking, exercise). They were followed for almost eight and a half years, during which there were just over 1,600 deaths from heart disease.
This latest research found that those who consumed at least 8 portions of fruits/veggies a day had a 22% reduced risk of death from heart disease compared to those who had a paltry three portions each day. Each added portion was associated with a 4% reduced risk of death. A portion was 80 grams - a small banana, medium apple or small carrot.
The average servings of fruits and veggies for the research subjects was five servings per day. Southern European countries came out tops in fruit and veggie eating. Italian men ate 7.5 portions each day, while Spanish women had 6.7 portions of fruits/veggies.
In Northern Europe the diets were less healthy with U.K. men eating just 4.1 servings a day; and women 4.8 portions. The Swedes were the worst in terms of fruit/veggie consumption.
Those who ate the most servings of fruit and veggies were slightly healthier overall, and this may play a role in the findings of the work. It may be that those who eat lots of fruits and veggies live an overall healthier lifestyle. Or there may be something (yet undiscovered) in these foods that helps the heart.
Living healthy overall, as well as getting enough fruits and veggies, is so important. You need to stop smoking, control high blood pressure or cholesterol, and keep yourself at a healthy weight to be making all the moves necessary to keep your body, and your heart, healthy. And while adding three more servings of fruits/veggies a day might seem daunting, adding one, for now, is certainly a goal most of us can achieve.
The guiding message from the research is that eating fruits and veggies is good for your heart, and your whole body. Eating 5 a day of these tasty treats should really be considered the starting point - a minimum that all of us should reach each day.
FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from Daily Health Bulletin and click the link now to discover more about the importance of eating 5 a day and how a diet full of fruits and vegetables can benefit your health.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6019370
P.S. I would like to hear from you! Please put a comment below about this post, your opinion or suggestion might be valuable to someone! I promise to answer every question you may have or a discussion you might want to start!
Also share the blog posts on your social media! If you like the blog, you can subscribe to our email list using the link http://bit.ly/2Nwlbth
Thank you for your time and participation!
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