Many people have issues when it comes to various food formulas and trying to eat healthy. Nutrition related problems in the past stem from the original food pyramid to the exact number of fruits and vegetables to eat.
Food is fundamental for health, and from a global standpoint, “dietary risk factors are estimated to cause 11 million deaths and 255 million disability-adjusted life years annually” (PLOS Medicine 2022).
Well, things have just become a bit clearer thanks to researchers at Harvard University.
New Easy-to-Follow Food Formula
The research study looked at nutrition data of 100,000 men and women over a 30-year period. In addition, 26 other studies which evaluated nutrition in over 2 million adults were reviewed. The study outcome was pretty straight forward. The Harvard School of Public Health food formula for longevity is simple in that you just need to consume two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables each day. Sounds pretty manageable….5 servings-a-day.
“This amount likely offers the most benefit in terms of prevention of major chronic disease and is a relatively achievable intake for the general public.”
Dong D. Wang, MD, ScD, an epidemiologist, nutritionist, and faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Should We Eat More than 5-a-Day?
You can eat more than 5 servings a day, but i’s not necessary. The Harvard School of Public Health actually has a new slogan: “5-a-day keeps the doctor away”. That says it all.
You can also optimize each serving in order to get the most health benefits. For example, leafy veggies such as kale, cruciferous veggies such as broccoli, beta carotene-rich foods like carrots, berries, and citrus fruits all made the top of the researchers list.
It is refreshing to get sound nutrition advice, backed by science, that is finally easy to understand. It is also easy to implement and in turn, will increase our longevity.
References
Wang Dong, et al. (2021). Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality: Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies of US Men and Women and a Meta-Analysis of 26 Cohort Studies. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.048996 Circulation. 143:1642–1654.
Fadnes Lars, et al. (2022). Estimating impact of food choices on life expectancy: A modeling study. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003889 PLOS Medicine
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