Are We Eating Enough Variety of Fruit and Veg?

We are often being reminded of the many health benefits derived from eating our five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, especially in helping to prevent cancer.  However, The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study has revealed that in relation to lung cancer, the important thing is not just the quantity but also the variety of fruit.  By consuming a wider variety fruits and vegetables, we can reduce the risk of lung cancer by 23%.    

The EPIC study involves 23 centres from 10 European countries (Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden, working with a sample of 500,000 European subjects (41,000 of whom live in the Spanish regions of Asturias, Granada, Guipúzcoa, Murcia and Navarre).  The results of the study, which have been published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, demonstrates that eating "more than eight sub-groups" of vegetables cuts this risk by 23% compared with eating "less than four sub-groups". In addition, this risk falls by a further 4% for each unit added to the diet from another sub-group.  This link was found only in smokers. 

Lung cancer is considered to be the most common type of cancer in the developed countries.  Statistics from Cancer Research UK indicate that lung cancer is also the most common cause of death from cancer for both men and women.  Thus, despite the encouraging evidence produced by the study,  Sánchez Pérez, director of the Granada Cancer Registry at the Andalusian School of Public Health, concludes that "the most effective way of preventing it (lung cancer) continues to be reducing the prevalence of tobacco consumption among the populace".