Research carried out as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutirtion (EPIC) published this week in the US Journal of the National Cancer Institute has found that eating 5 A DAY does very little to cut cancer.
The study has been leapt upon by the UK media, which has been quick to point out that there is a growing body of evidence that weakens international public health messages to eat more fresh produce. However, it is important to note that the researchers in this EPIC analysis studied people from 10 different countries and took into account a host of lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking and exercise.
They found that raising fresh produce consumption by a further two portions daily did reduce cancer risk.
For this reason, the Fresh Produce Consortium has welcomed the findings of the report as a demonstration that fruit and vegetables make an important contribution to a healthy diet.
The World Cancer Research Fund has also come out in support of the findings, saying that an increase in consumption by two portions a day would reduce cancer cases in the UK by 7,000 a year.
The fund calls this “a significant number” of cases and it supports the evidence that “eating plenty of fruit and vegetables probably reduces risk”, potentially preventing about 2.5 per cent of cancers.
The US researchers make it clear that there is a definite need to encourage the 5 A DAY habit to achieve a healthy diet and they stress the that there is strong evidence that 5 A DAY reduces the risk of heart disease.
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