With great fanfare, it was reported last week that the current health advice about eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is outdated, and that scientists now believe that eight portions is more beneficial. While many people grumbled about how on earth they would manage those extra portions, I allowed myself a wry smile. For more than two years I’ve known that the ‘five-a-day’ mantra we’re all so familiar with is nothing but a fairytale.
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_17148941
Read the rest, this article is spot on. Observational studies are nice for establishing hypothesis, which could then be tested via intervention studies. Observational studies, though, are useless for establishing causation. Any way you want to slice them, there's still no evidence to support the notion that eating fruits and veggies will improve your prospects for living longer.
What to do? Eat a few fruits if you like them, not more than one serving per day if you have any challenges with regards to weight loss. Eat the good veggies, such as lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower - if you like them!
As always, eat meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit little starch and no sugar or wheat. Supplement vitamin D to reach a minimum of 30 ng/ml, and take approximately 1 gram per day of DHA/EPA.
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_17148941
Of course, they are tasty, colourful additions to any meal. But in terms of health and nutrition, fruit and veg have little to offer, and telling us to eat eight portions a day is compounding one of the worst health fallacies in recent history.
(A recent study) found that people who ate eight or more portions of fresh food a day had a 22 per cent lower chance of dying from heart disease. Yet just 1,636 participants died during the study from heart disease, which is about half of one per cent. Out of that very small proportion, fewer people died from the group that ate more fruit and veg. However, the researchers cautioned that these people may have healthier lifestyles generally. They may be less likely to smoke; they may eat less processed food; they may be more active. What we should not do is to make the usual bad science leap from association to causation and say ‘eating more fruit and veg lowers the risk of dying from heart disease’.
Read the rest, this article is spot on. Observational studies are nice for establishing hypothesis, which could then be tested via intervention studies. Observational studies, though, are useless for establishing causation. Any way you want to slice them, there's still no evidence to support the notion that eating fruits and veggies will improve your prospects for living longer.
What to do? Eat a few fruits if you like them, not more than one serving per day if you have any challenges with regards to weight loss. Eat the good veggies, such as lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower - if you like them!
As always, eat meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit little starch and no sugar or wheat. Supplement vitamin D to reach a minimum of 30 ng/ml, and take approximately 1 gram per day of DHA/EPA.
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