High Intake of Fruit and Vegetables Again Linked to Reduced Heart Disease Risk

In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
(EPIC)-Heart study, published online January 19, 2011 in the European
Heart Journal, people who ate at least eight portions of fruit and
vegetables a day had a 22% lower risk of dying from heart disease than
those who consumed fewer than three portions a day. A portion weighed
80 g, equal to a small banana, a medium apple, or a small carrot.

The authors, led by Dr Francesca Crowe (University of Oxford, UK), say
that whether this association is causal and, if so, what the
biological mechanism mediating the effect is, remain unclear.

They explain that previous observational studies have suggested that a
high fruit and vegetable intake reduces the risk of coronary heart
disease, but the presence of considerable between-study heterogeneity
has led to uncertainty in the interpretation of this association.

The EPIC-Heart study followed 313 074 men and women without previous
MI or stroke from eight European countries. After an average of 8.4
years of follow-up, there were 1636 deaths from ischemic heart
disease. Results suggested that each one-portion increment in fruit
and vegetable intake was associated with a 4% lower risk of fatal
heart disease, after researchers controlled for established risk
factors.