Increased fruit and veggie intake decreases risk of cancer, stroke

From the Guardian:

It probably seems like common sense at this point, but eating more fruits and vegetables will decrease your chance of dying.

Confirmation of that pearl of wisdom comes from University College London, which conducted a sweeping eight-year study that charted the lives and health issues of 65,000 people. The study linked subjects with a cause of death and daily fruit and veggie intake.

The study unsurprisingly found that eating more fruits and vegetables will decrease your risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke. However, if there was one part of the study that offered new and illuminating information it was this: to reap the benefits of healthy eating, you need to eat at least seven servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

Eating the recommended seven servings was linked to a 42 percent lower risk of death (from all causes). According to the Guardian, it was also linked to 25 percent lower risk of cancer and 31 percent lower risk of heart disease or stroke. Vegetables seemed to be significantly more protection against disease than eating fruit, they say.

The study also found that people who eat canned fruit actually have a slightly higher chance of suffering heart disease, stroke, or cancer.

Eating seven servings a day flies in the face of a previous study conducted by the World Health Organization that said individuals should consume 400 grams of fruit and veggies daily. In the United Kingdom, the government has advised citizens to eat five servings a day.

The United States hasn't endorsed a specific serving number and instead encourages citizens that with fruits and veggies "more matters."

For more information, and to read the full report from the Guardian, click here.