Richard Hall

Fruit, vegetables and health

Richard Hall is chairman of Zenith International.

The simplicity of aiming for five fruit and vegetable portions a day is brilliant. Achieving it is rather more difficult for many, and now the science has become more complicated.

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Instinctively, we know we should eat healthier to be healthier. Some of us are adopting positive nutrition choices in preference to medicine, supplements or even exercise.

A huge study of dietary data from almost 500,000 people in Europe, however, has ‘found only a weak association between high fruit and vegetable intake and reduced overall cancer risk’ (The Economist 10 April 2010).

‘Those who eat virtually no fruit and vegetables … are only 9% more likely to develop cancer than those who stick to the WHO recommendations’, it said.

There’s better news on other concerns. People who consume their five a day have a 30% lower incidence of heart disease and strokes.

Richard Hall is chairman of Zenith International. You can also read his blog at BevBlog.

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