Eating Fruits and Vegetables Can Lengthen Life and Help Stay Healthier

A new study has given mothers another excuse to push more fruits and veggies on their children's plates. Researchers have recently found that eating fruits and vegetables reduces risk of dying early.

The study was conducted by scientists from ten European countries and included data from 451,151 participants.

"This study is the most significant epidemiological study that this association has examined to date," María José Sánchez Pérez, director of the Andalusian School of Public Health's (EASP) Granada Cancer Registry and one of the authors of the research, told Plataforma SINC.

The data used in the study was collected over a 13-year period. Experts found that eating more than 500 grams (a little over a pound) of fruits and veggies per day reduced mortality by 10 percent and delayed mortality risk by over a year when compared to lower vegetable consumption levels.

Also, increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables increased the chances of extending lifespan, researchers found, SINC reported.

This isn't the first study linking fruit/ vegetable consumption with good health until old age. Previously, a study had suggested that eating fruits and vegetables lowers LDL (the bad cholesterol that causes heart diseases) in men and women. People can reduce risk of diabetes type-2 by eating fruits and veggies, according to a new study published in the journal Diabetes Care.

Including fruits and vegetable in the diet can help protect the kidney from Chronic kidney disease where the kidneys are unable to remove excess waste and water from the body, another study had reported.

"There is now sufficient evidence of the beneficial effect of fruit and vegetable consumption in the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases," Sánchez told SINC, "for this reason, one of the most effective preventative measures is promoting their consumption in the population."

The study is published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.