Researchers in Japan say their 20-year-long study shows that people who eat lots of fruit and vegetables are at lower risk of death compared to those who eat little of such food.

The group says the analysis is the first to show a link between risk of death and fruit and vegetable consumption in Japanese people.

The group includes researchers from Yokohama City University and the National Cancer Center.

The group studied around 95,000 people aged 40 to 69 for about 20 years in Tokyo and 10 other prefectures nationwide.

About 24,000 of the subjects died during the period.

Researchers found that compared to participants who ate the least amount of fruit, those with high fruit consumption had an eight to nine percent lower risk of death.

They say the risk of death for those who ate lots of vegetables was seven to eight percent lower compared to those with the lowest vegetable consumption.

The researchers found that those with high fruit consumption faced a roughly nine percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular diseases.

But they were unable to find any connection between eating a lot of fruit and mortality from cancer and respiratory diseases.

The researchers estimate that people should ideally eat at least 300 grams of vegetables and 140 grams of fruit every day. ...continue reading