More Accolades for Fruits and Veggies

BARCELONA, SpainA prospective Spanish study published in TheAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition (June 2007, 85, 6, 1634-1642) found high intake of fresh fruit, root vegetables and fruiting (seed-containing) vegetables is associated with reduced mortality, probably as a result of their high content of vitamins C and E, provitamin A carotenoids, and lycopene. During 6.5 years of trial follow-up, 562 deaths occurred in 41,358 subjects age 30 to 69. Proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the relation between dietary factors and total mortality.

The hazard ratio for the highest versus the lowest quartile of consumption was 0.79 for fresh fruit, 0.72 for root vegetables, and 0.77 for fruiting vegetables. Corresponding figures for antioxidant nutrients were 0.74 for vitamin C, 0.68 for provitamin A carotenoids, and 0.65 for lycopene; however, the effect of vitamin C and provitamin A disappeared after adjustment for total antioxidant capacity in plant foods.