Despite the widely held belief—promoted by the World Health Organization and U.S. public health organizations for two decades—that eating more fruit and veggies can diminish cancer risk, a large scale study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds that getting a daily five servings of apples, tomatoes and leafy greens has a very small impact on cancer risk. Analyzing health and food consumption data for more than 400,000 people included in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center found that people who eat an extra two servings (about 200 grams) of fruit and vegetables saw less than a 3% reduction in cancer risk.
The study authors stressed that eating fruits and vegetables still has a positive impact on overall health, and that while small, the reduction in cancer risk remains noteworthy. Yet, they conclude that previous suggestions that diets high in fruit and veggies can dramatically reduce cancer risk—by as much as 50%—are unfounded.
