THERE’S no magic recipe for a longer life. But the recommendation that you should eat 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables daily comes pretty close. Such diets are strongly associated with longevity, according to research published Monday in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. “This amount [of fruits and vegetables] likely offers the most benefit in terms of prevention of major chronic disease and is a relatively achievable intake for the general public,” said Dr. Dong D. Wang, the lead study author and an epidemiologist and nutritionist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Researchers studied diet and mortality among more than 100,000 men and women in the United States over the course of about 3 decades, along with data from similar studies conducted worldwide. Information on more than 2 million study participants was included. The authors concluded that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps reduce the risk for the chronic health conditions that are the leading causes of death, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. For example, people who followed a 5-a-day diet had a 13 percent lower risk of death from all causes, a 12 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, a 10 percent lower risk of death from cancer, and a 35 percent lower risk of death from respiratory diseases — compared to those who ate fewer fruits and vegetables. “Fruits and vegetables are naturally packaged sources of nutrients that can be included in most meals and snacks, and they are essential for keeping our hearts and bodies healthy,” said Anne Thorndike, chair of the American Heart Association’s nutrition committee and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Not all fruits and vegetables are created equal, however. Researchers found longevity benefits in foods such as green leafy vegetables like spinach, lettuce, and kale, as well as fruit and vegetables rich in beta carotene and vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, berries, and carrots. Starchy vegetables such as peas, corn and potatoes weren’t associated with decreased risk of death during the study period.Nor was consumption of fruit juices. (SD-Agencies) | 