More Fruits and Vegetables Equal Lower Risk, Less Weight

Amid numerous ongoing debates over which dietary interventions are most beneficial, one standard suggestion continues to ring true: Eat more fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables “are unbelievably loaded with good-for-you nutrients,” observes American Dietetic Association (ADietA) spokesperson Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LD, of the Northwestern Memorial Wellness Institute in Chicago.

“Eating more fruits and vegetables can only help prevent diseases, as well as manage diseases that people already have,” she says. “I have never seen a research article that implicates fruits and vegetables in any sort of negative light.”

Evidence shows that fruits and vegetables, consumed in proper amounts, are good for preventing stroke, heart disease, and hypertension, as well as promoting vascular function, weight loss, and other health aspects.

“I DON'T THINK PEOPLE HAVE CONNECTED TO THE FACT THAT IF THEY CONSUME FIVE TO SIX SERVINGS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES PER DAY THEIR RISK OF STROKE IS GOING TO BE REDUCED.”

A STRIKE AT STROKES

A recent meta-analysis published in The Lancet suggests an association between fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of stroke.¹ “Compared with individuals who eat less than three servings of fruits and vegetables per day, those who eat three to five servings per day have an 11% reduction in the risk of stroke, while those who eat more than five servings per day have a 26% reduction,” says lead author Feng J. He, PhD, of St. George's University of London.

“I think most people know that fruits and vegetables are healthy for them; I don't think they really have connected the fact that if they consume five to six servings of fruits and vegetables per day their risk of stroke is going to be reduced by so much,” says Lyn M. Steffen, PhD, of University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Steffen wrote an editorial accompanying the Lancet study.²

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends a daily minimum of 3–5 cups of fruits and vegetables.³ The American Heart Association (AHA) calls for a diet “rich in” fruits and vegetables, noting that the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) diet recommendations of four to five fruit and vegetable servings per day are consistent with AHA's recommended goal of 2,000 kcal/day.⁴ “A dietary pattern that includes carbohydrate from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and low-fat milk is encouraged for good health,” according to the American Diabetes Association's 2006 nutrition recommendations.⁵

Yet the average fruit and vegetable intake in most developed countries is approximately three servings per day, according to He.

INCREASED CONSUMPTION CONFERS OTHER BENEFITS

Numerous studies show that increased fruit and vegetable consumption also positively affects factors associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and blood pressure and helps weight loss:

1. Compared with men and women eating less than one and a half servings of fruits and vegetables daily, those eating five or more servings lowered their risk of cardiovascular disease by 28%.⁶

2. In healthy older men, fruit and dietary vitamin C intake had anti-inflammatory effects, and fruit and vegetable intake was significantly correlated with lowered markers of endothelial dysfunction.⁷

3. Greater intakes of dark yellow and green leafy vegetables for ≥8 years reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes among a large cohort of women with a body mass index ≥25.⁸

4. Overweight postmenopausal women eating a low-fat vegan diet lost about 5.9 kg (13 lb) over 14 weeks, compared with a weight loss of about 3.6 kg (8 lb) among those eating a control diet based on the National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines.⁹

5. Individuals who consumed more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain foods were less likely to develop elevated blood pressure, defined as >135 mmHg systolic and 85 mmHg diastolic, over 15 years.¹⁰

MAKING EATING PLAN CHANGES

Eating more fruits and vegetables helps replace the consumption of high-calorie, high-fat foods, creating a beneficial “substitution effect,” Steffen says.

Should one change to a vegan or vegetarian diet, another ADietA spokesperson Tara Gidus, MS, RD, LD/N, a nutrition counselor in Orlando, Fla., strongly suggests seeking the advice of a registered dietitian to ensure adequate intake of proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

Blatner advocates what she calls a “flexitarian” diet, one with all the beans, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains of a vegan diet, but the flexibility of also consuming small amounts of chicken, fish, low-fat dairy products, and lean meat. To help patients increase their fruit and vegetable consumption, Blatner suggests that fruits and vegetables cover half the plate at each meal and make up half their grocery bill.

Blatner and Gidus offer additional tips for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption:

1. Store fruits and vegetables in plain view. Use an eye-level shelf in the refrigerator and keep a bowl of fruit on the counter.

2. Use convenient frozen vegetables and precut, prewashed fresh produce.

3. Experiment with sauces, dressings, and spice blends. Add nuts and small amounts of low–trans fat margarines or oils to enhance the flavor of vegetables.

4. Enjoy fruit smoothies for breakfast, dried or fresh fruit in cereals, and orange or other fruit juice, or grab a banana when on the run.

5. When baking, replace oil cup for cup with unsweetened applesauce, pureed prunes, or bananas.

6. Add vegetables to casseroles and soups.

7. Drink tomato and other vegetable juices.

8. Create salads with tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers, and other brightly colored vegetables to supplement leafy greens.

9. Eat a bowl of berries for dessert.

When people heed advice to eat more fruits and vegetables, “they tend to lose weight, feel full, have less craving, experience better blood glucose control, and generally feel better,” Blatner says. ▪