Health update - Are you eating your 5 a day? | Thursday,15 Apr 2010
Eating fruit and vegetables may only have a modest effect on your risk of developing cancer, according to new research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The study comes from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), which looked at over half a million people from 10 countries across Europe to see whether diet has an effect on cancer risk. The current analysis from the EPIC study was carried out specifically to look at the link between fruit and vegetable intake and overall cancer risk, and included just under half a million people.
"Don't ditch your five-a-day just yet. Although fruit and vegetables may not lower cancer risk by much, they do have a protective effect against heart disease and stroke".
Dr Annabel Bentley, Assistant Medical Director, Bupa
The study participants filled out a questionnaire at the start of the study about their diet over the past year. Some were also asked to report what they had eaten in the last day to ensure the results were accurate. For the current analysis, the researchers looked at the amount of fruit (not including fruit juices) and vegetables (not including potatoes, pulses or vegetable juices) that the people in the study ate. The researchers then followed up the participants for an average of nearly nine years and found out whether they had developed cancer by contacting them or their next of kin, and searching through cancer and mortality registries in each country.