I thought that it was an April Fool's when I read these comments:
"The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die - at any age."
The study looked at general mortality as well as death from cancer, heart disease and stroke, and found risk of premature death from any cause decreased as fruit and veg consumption increased.
Risk of death by any cause over the course of the study was reduced by:
14% by eating one to three portions of fruit or veg per day
29% for three to five
36% for five to seven
42% for seven or more (up to around 10 portions a day)
however, they really mean it.There are many reasons given, but a few important ones are missing.
Due to the intensification and industrialisation of farming since WWII the nutritional value of our food has dropped. Globally we are growing more and more (numbers and volume) but this has more to do with creating strains with bigger yields in a shorter time, and the use of artificial fertilisers. The crops are not taking up the essential minerals and elements from the soil - they are bulked out like an athlete on steroids.
This has not only affected fruit and veg. Livestock is now almost exclusively fed on bulked out 'animal feed' rather than the free food in the fields. The levels of iron and other minerals in meat has also dropped.
We are probably having to eat more of the stuff they sell to us because it is about as nutritious as the packaging it comes in. No wonder diet supplements are all the rage.
