Why fruit and veg?
Why do we need to eat fruit and vegetables?
Public Health England and WHO recommend that we aim to eat at least 5 fruit and vegetables a day[1],[2].
Large national diet and nutrition surveys show that most adults and children aren’t meeting the recommended 5 a day and are on average only eating 3.7 portions of F&V a day[3].
Why fruit and veg?
There is evidence to show that fruit and vegetables play an important role in reducing the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure, high cholesterol and being overweight are some of the risk factors of cardiovascular disease[2]. These risk factors can be modified by a change in diet[4],[5], such as increasing fruit and vegetable intake.
But how?
As fruit and vegetables are low in saturated fat, eating more of these can help you replace foods which are high in saturated fat and low in fibre[4],[7]. Eating too much saturated fat can increase the bad cholesterol in our blood.
If we eat more fruit and vegetables, we will be eating foods low in saturated fat and high in fibre , both of which help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease[2].
A more detailed level shows us that the important components of plants have a positive physiological effect on the body. This includes essential nutrients, fibre, and phytochemicals[6]:
Fibre lowers blood pressure, reduces fat and bad cholesterol in the blood, as well as dampening blood sugar spikes after meals[7]
A phytochemical (a plant chemical) called phytosterols also helps lower cholesterol levels in the blood.
Antioxidants (vitamins A, C, E, and phytochemicals) fight against free radicals in the body.
For healthy people, it is important to focus on eating whole foods and dietary patterns, because of the range of contributing components rather than single nutrients[8]. Concentrated nutrients in supplements haven’t been proven to provide the same benefit of eating whole foods in terms of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease[9] and taking high doses of vitamins and minerals in the form of supplements can have negative effects[10]
For most of us to stay healthy, it is important to focus on eating whole foods and dietary patterns, like eating more fruit and vegetables. If you’re looking for some ideas on how to increase your vegetable intake, have a look at our infographic page for a few tips.
References
[1]. Public Health England (2016) The Eatwell Guide, Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-eatwell-guide
2. World Health Organization and Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Contributor (2003) Diet, nutrition, and the prevention of chronic diseases report of a joint WHO/FAO expert consultation, Geneva: World Health Organization, Available at: https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/trs916/en/
3. NHS Digital (2019) Health Survey for England 2018 [NS], Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2018
4. Hartley, L., Igbinedion E., Holmes, J., Flowers, N., Thorogood, M., Clarke A., Stranges S., Hooper L., Rees K. (2013) ‘Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables for the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases’, Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (6), p.CD009874, Available at: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009874.pub2/full
5. Paterson, K. (2019) ‘Section 7.14.1’ in Gandy J. and British Dietetic Association (eds.) Manual of Dietetic Practice, 6th ed. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell
6. Watzl, B and Leitzmann, C., (2017) Chapter 15: Other biologically active substances in plant foods: phytochemicals, in Mann, J. and Truswell, A. S. Essentials of Human Nutrition, 5th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 250-259
7. Yu, Edward, Malik, Vasanti S & Hu, Frank B, 2018. Cardiovascular Disease Prevention by Diet Modification: JACC Health Promotion Series, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 72(8), pp.914–926, Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109718352926?via%3Dihub
8. Alissa, E. M. and Ferns, G. A. (2017) ‘Dietary fruits and vegetables and cardiovascular diseases risk’, Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 57(9), pp.1950–1962
9. Marmot, M. (2011) ‘Fruit and vegetable intake reduces risk of fatal coronary heart disease’, European Heart Journal, 32(10), pp. 1182–1183, Available at: https://doi- org.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/10.1093/eurheartj/ehq506, [Accessed on: 12/03/2021]
10. British Dietetic Association (2019) Supplements: Food Fact Sheet, Available at: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/supplements.html