2023-12-21 18:15:47
In a new study, the extent to which the diversity in fruit and vegetables consumed by a person influences their life expectancy has been investigated.
A varied intake of vegetables and fruits is important for our health, and consuming a greater variety can reduce mortality from all causes, as well as improve risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, specifically obesity and hypercholesterolemia. This is the conclusion of a study carried out at an international level by the Food, Nutrition, Development and Mental Health research group of the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona, the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) in Tarragona and the Network Biomedical Research Center for the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), in Spain, in collaboration with the University of Toronto in Canada.
Although there are a large number of scientific studies that support the importance of consuming a large amount of vegetables and fruits (five servings a day) for their cardioprotective qualities and other healthy characteristics, until now there was a lack of scientific evidence in relation to the importance of variety in consumption in relation to its impact on health. The present study, therefore, confirms what health authorities, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), had already observed. Assessing the impact of vegetable and fruit variety on cardiovascular health and mortality has important clinical implications, as it may help develop future dietary strategies to prevent or delay mortality and promote healthy aging.
After conducting a systematic review of the studies published so far, collecting all the relevant scientific evidence and applying statistical methods to synthesize the results, a meta-analysis of twelve unique observational studies has been carried out, with almost 300,000 participants. Analyzes have shown that consumption of a greater variety of vegetables and fruits is associated with an 11% lower risk of mortality from all causes. In addition, a higher intake of varied vegetables and fruits is also associated with a lower risk of obesity and hypercholesterolemia.
Although this evidence supports that, regardless of the quantity, the variety in the intake of fruits and vegetables is beneficial for health and improves life expectancy, the authors of the study emphasize that additional studies with a level of evidence are necessary. higher to better understand the importance of the observed associations.
Some plant foods. (Photo: CDC / James Gathany)
According to Stephanie Nishi, co-author of the study, “Dietary diversity, as evidenced by increased variety of fruits and vegetables, has long been recognized as a key component of diet quality. Vegetables and fruits, in general, are rich in nutrients, and consuming a combination of varieties that have different nutrients or bioactive components can have greater health benefits. So to speak, they could act as an orchestra where the combination of different musical instruments (in this case fruits and vegetables) achieves a better symphonic sound.”
Jordi Salas-Salvadó, director of the Human Nutrition Unit at the URV, explains that “this research is based on a previous study by the PREDIMED-Plus team from Reus, which demonstrated in more than 6,500 participants that a greater variety in the intake of “Fruits and vegetables are associated with higher diet quality and a healthier lifestyle in an older population.” Nancy Babio, co-author of the study, states, for her part, that “although there is some scientific evidence about the importance of consuming enough fruits and vegetables, this study is the first to summarize the evidence related to variety.”
This work has had the participation, in addition to Nishi, Salas-Salvadó and Babio, of predoctoral researchers Nadine Khoury and Cristina Valle Hita. All these authors are part of the URV, the CIBEROBN and the IISPV. There has also been the international collaboration of Andreea Zurbau, postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.
The study is titled “Vegetable and Fruit Intake Variety and Cardiovascular Health and Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.” And it has been published in the academic journal Nutrients. (Source: URV)
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