Fruit and vegetables alone will not protect against cancer

In 1990, the World Health Organization recommended that everyone consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day to prevent cancer and other chronic diseases.

But research has failed to substantiate the suggestion that as many as 50% of cancers could be prevented by boosting our intake.

The international team of researchers estimates only around 2.5% of cancers could be averted by increasing intake – this joins a growing body of evidence undermining the high hopes that pushing ‘five-a-day’ might slash cancer rates.

But experts stress eating fruits and vegetables is still key to good health.

The study took into account lifestyle factors such as smoking and exercise when drawing their conclusions, and confirms that the association between the intake of fruit and vegetables and reduced cancer risk is weak. They did however say they could not rule out that even the small reduction in cancer risk seen was down to the fact that the kind of people who consumed more good foods lived healthier lives in many other respects too.

Professor Walter Willet of Harvard University said the research strongly confirmed the findings of other studies, showing “that any association of intake and fruits and vegetables with risk of cancer is weak at best.”

In the best-case scenario, extra two portions of fruit and vegetables each day could prevent 2.6% of cancers in men and 2.3% in women.

“For the UK, this works out as about 7,000 cases a year, which is a significant number,” says Dr Rachel Thompson from the World Cancer research fund.

Vegetables, which tend to be richer in nutrients appear to be more beneficial than fruits, while heavy drinkers seemed to gain the most from a higher intake of both when it came to protection from cancers caused by alcohol and smoking.
Yinka Ebo of Cancer Research UK said: “It’s still a good idea to eat your five-a-day but remember that fruits and vegetables are pieces in a much larger lifestyle jigsaw.

“There are many things we can do to lower our chances of developing cancer such as not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, cutting down on alcohol, eating a healthy balanced diet, being physically active and staying safe in the sun.”

By Deepika Dudakia