The potential contribution of increased vegetable and fruit consumption to health gain in the European Union

Abstract

Background: The risk of many important diseases can be reduced by consuming a diet rich in vegetables and fruit. For this reason the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily intake of more than 400 g person 21 . The pattern of both the supply and intake of vegetables and fruit and the potential health gain achieved by increasing intake in the European Union (EU) and three accession countries are presented in this paper. Methods: Patterns of supply and dietary intake were assessed using (1) FAO food balance sheets, which allow comparison between the levels of supply in countries but do not reflect actual intake; and (2) survey data reflecting dietary intake. Using WHO mortality data for coronary heart and cerebrovascular disease and major cancers up to age 65 years, the number of preventable deaths is estimated, assuming vegetable and fruit consumption were levelled up to that of the highest consuming group, and assuming relative risks of 0.5, 0.7 or 0.9. Results: Vegetable and fruit consumption varies considerably between EU Member States. The populations of about half (seven) of the EU Member States have a mean daily intake of less than 275 g. Using the best current estimates of relative risk, over 26,000 deaths before the age of 65 years would be prevented annually in the EU if intake was levelled up to the highest consumption levels (and about double this number of deaths before the age of 75 years). Conclusion: Increasing the intake of vegetables and fruit is feasible and could result in considerable improvements in public health within the EU. Priority should be given to developing methods that demonstrate the burden of disease caused by too low intakes of vegetables and fruit. This would enable the appropriate social, cultural and economic policies to be developed within the EU.

Effect of Aqueous Extract of Nutmeg on Hyperglycaemia, Hyperlipidaemia and Cardiac Histology Associated with Isoproterenol-induced Myocardial Infarction in Rats

“…Among the various mechanisms proposed to explain the ISO-induced cardiac damage, generation of highly cytotoxic free radicals through the auto-oxidation of the drug has been proposed as one of the important causative factors 4 . The consumption of diets rich in plant foods is associated with reduced risk of CVD, and this has been observed in numerous epidemiological studies 5 .…”

A Study of Dietary Patterns in the Mexican-American Population and Their Association with Obesity

“…Many studies support the value of dietary pattern analysis and some focus on the relationship of overall dietary patterns to health risk (2,(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44). In fact cardiovascular disease and cancer have a substantial dietary basis, and estimates suggest that better eating habits -for instance, increasing the intake of vegetables and fruits -could result in considerable improvements in public health (45)(46)(47)(48). Newby et al (27), in a study of dietary patterns and corresponding changes in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, concluded that consuming a diet that is high in fruit, vegetables, reduced-fat dairy products, and whole grains while low in red and processed meat, fast food, and soda was associated with smaller gains in BMI and waist circumference.…”

“…This procedure was done using SAS version 8.1 See Table 5. Dairy desserts (pudding, custard, cheesecake, ice cream) 3 (6) Other dairy products (yogurt) 4 (7) Cheese 5 (2) Lowfat and lowfat products 6 (3,11) Butter, cream, sour cream 7 (4,12,14) Processed fat products (margarine, non-dairy creamer) 8 (13) Oils, cooking oils, and salad dressings 9 (9,53) Nuts and seeds, peanut butter 10 (15, 16) Citrus fruits, natural citrus fruit juices 11 (17,18) Non-citrus fruits and natural non-citrus fruit juices 12 (20) Orange vegetables (not sweet potatoes) 13 (21) Dark green, leafy vegetables 14 (22) Tomatoes and tomato products 15 (24,25,28) Starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantain) 16 (23,57) Other vegetables (onions, chilis, peppers) 17 (26,27) Legumes (beans, lentils, garbanzos, soy products) 18 (29) Eggs 19 (31,32,33) Red meat 20 (30) Poultry 21 (35) Seafood and fish 22 (36) Liver and organ meats 23 (34) Processed meat (sausage, bacon) 24 (37) Cakes, cookies and pies 25 (38,39) Breakfast cereals 26 (42,46) Tortillas, tacos, and corn products 27 (40,41) Wheat products 28 (45) Pasta 29 (43,44,58) Grain products, rice, supplements 30 (47) Chips and processed snacks 31 (48) Pizza and other Italian dishes 32 (19,49,50) F...…”

Vegetable and fruit intake and mortality from chronic disease in New Zealand

“…31 Because price is an important factor influencing food consumption choices, potential regulatory interventions include subsidies for people on low incomes to purchase vegetables and fruit. 32 Incentives can also be provided for industry to improve local access to good-quality products at affordable prices, especially in low-income neighbourhoods where private transport may be unavailable. 32 Such policy interventions could potentially increase consumption beyond the amount modelled here.…”

“…32 Incentives can also be provided for industry to improve local access to good-quality products at affordable prices, especially in low-income neighbourhoods where private transport may be unavailable. 32 Such policy interventions could potentially increase consumption beyond the amount modelled here.…”