Posts Tagged "vegetables"

Fruit 11Eating more fruits and vegetables can help control weight, but a new study suggests that it depends on which fruits and vegetables you eat.

Researchers recorded diet information for 117,918 men and women in their 30s and 40s at the start of a study and followed them for 24 years, with interviews at four-year intervals.

An overall increase in a daily serving of vegetable or fruit over a four-year period led to less weight gained — 0.25 pounds less for vegetables, and 0.53 pounds for fruit.

Increased intake of berries was linked to a 1.11-pound lower weight gain, and of citrus fruits a 0.27-pound lower gain. Adding a daily serving of tofu or soy was tied to 2.47 pounds less Fruit 10weight gained, and of apples or pears 1.24 pounds less. Carrots and peppers were also linked to smaller gains, but potatoes, peas and corn were not.

The study, in PLOS Medicine, controlled for many health and behavioral variables, including changes in dozens of food and nutrient intakes apart from fruits and vegetables.

The lead author, Monica L. Bertoia, a researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said that Americans’ fruit and vegetable intake was mostly fruit juices and potatoes. But, she said, “There are many fruits and vegetables that may be better choices — apples, pears, berries and nonstarchy vegetables.

Source: New York Times

nutsEating half a handful of nuts every day could substantially lower the risk of early death, a Dutch study suggests. Previous studies had already indicated a link with cardiovascular health, but this is the first to look at specific nuts and diseases. Maastricht University researchers found a 23% lower chance of death during the 10-year study in people eating at least 10g (0.3oz) of nuts or peanuts a day. There was no benefit for peanut butter, which is high in salt and trans fats. More than 120,000 Dutch 55-to-69-year-old men and women provided dietary and lifestyle information in 1986, and then their mortality rate was looked at 10 years later. The premature mortality risk due to cancer, diabetes, respiratory and neurodegenerative diseases was lower among the nut consumers.  There was an average 23% lower risk of 10-year mortality across all diseases, with a decrease of:

  • 45% for neurodegenerative disease
  • 39% for respiratory disease
  • 30% for diabetes

nuts 2Prof Piet van den Brandt, who led the study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, said: “It was remarkable that substantially lower mortality was already observed at consumption levels of 15g of nuts or peanuts on average per day.” The researchers had taken into account the mitigating factor that nut consumers ate more fruit and vegetables and that women who ate nuts were often leaner, and adjusted the results accordingly, Prof Van den Brandt told the BBC.

Source: BBC

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