10 Portions of Fruits & Veggies Daily Can Help You Live Longer

London:  According to the World Health Organisation, it is recommended to have at least five portions of fruits and veggies daily which about a minimum of 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per day. But if this new study is to be believed, it’s good to up your fruit and veggie intake to 10 portions in a day for a longer and healthier life.The study was conducted by researchers from the Imperial College in London and it shows that consumption of 10 portions of 800 grams (which is double the WHO recommendation) of fruit and vegetables every day may potentially prevent about 7.8 million premature deaths worldwide every year. These findings were published in the journal International Journal of Epidemiology.The study reveals that eating up to 800 grams of fruits and vegetables in a day or 10 portions was associated with a 24 per cent reduced risk of heart disease, a 33 per cent reduced risk of stroke, a 28 per cent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, a 13 per cent reduced risk of total cancer, and a 31 per cent reduction in dying prematurely!According to lead author Dagfinn Aune from Imperial College, London, "We wanted to investigate how much fruit and vegetables you need to eat to gain the maximum protection against disease, and premature death. Our results suggest that although five portions of fruit and vegetables is good, ten a day is even better.” The researchers also found out the specific foods that you must include in your daily diet such as apples, pears, citrus fruits, spinach, lettuce and cruciferous vegetables like as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower."Fruit and vegetables have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels, blood pressure and to boost the health of our blood vessels and immune system. This may be due to the complex network of nutrients they hold. For instance they contain many antioxidants, which may reduce DNA damage and lead to a reduction in cancer risk," Aune added. In order to reach this conclusion, experts conducted a meta-analysis of all the research that is available around the world in this subject  available including up to 2 million people, and assessing about 43,000 cases of heart disease, 47,000 cases of stroke, 81,000 cases of cardiovascular disease, 112,000 cancer cases and 94,000 deaths.With inputs from IANS