Fruits and vegetables will save your life: By the numbers You're well aware by now that eating fruits and vegetables is a great way to reduce cancer risk. But a new study says it in a way that's truly eye-opening... The study, done at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, noted that for every portion of fruit and vegetables consumed, there was a 5% reduction in the risk of premature death. Of course, the study concluded that this benefit trailed off above five servings. Which led the researchers to dismiss a previous study that called for increasing the recommended intake of fruit and vegetables from five to seven servings a day. Really, guys? All that funding and research to tell people to eat less good stuff? Well, at least they acknowledged the benefits of eating five servings I guess. But what I found particularly interesting about this new research was a quote in one of the articles I read about it. As Catherine Collins, principal dietician at St George's Hospital in London put it: "If this [eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day] was a drug, and you said, 'If you take this drug, it will reduce your risk of premature death by 25%,' we would be making millions with drugs companies." Well, the drugs companies aren't exactly going to be putting her on their holiday gift list for saying that... but I'm obviously glad she did. I've been echoing her sentiment for years now. It's a powerful statement about the benefits of good food. And at the same time, a chilling commentary on how much control the pharmaceutical industry has over our health ... and our lives. Until next time, Dr. Fred SOURCES: "Body-mass index and risk of 22 specific cancers: a population-based cohort study of 5·24 million UK adults," The Lancet 2014; 384(9945): 755-765 "Substantially Increased Risk for Cancer With Higher BMI," MedScape, 8/14/14 (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/829950) "Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMJ, 2014; 349 (jul 29): g4490 DOI:10.1136/bmj.g4490 "Drug link would increase fruit and veg consumption," FoodManufacture.co.uk, 8/1/14 ( http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Ingredients/Death-risk-reduced-by-fruit-and-vegetables)