Do You Need to Eat Your Vegetables?

by WiredBerries Editors — August 3, 2007

Many studies have shown that plants and plant-derived foods contain anti-carcinogenic compounds, so folks in the medical community had long hypothesized that eating lots of fruits and veggies should be a good way of warding off cancer. But how many servings of fruits and vegetables are we talking here?

A new study in JAMA (formerly the Journal of the American Medical Association) aims to find out--and the results are interesting. In the study, "women with early stage breast cancer who adopted a diet very high in vegetables, fruit and fiber and low in fat did not have a lower risk of breast cancer recurrence compared to women who followed a diet of five or more servings a day of fruit and vegetables (the '5-A-Day' diet)," according to a press release. The study group of 1537 women was randomly assigned telephone counseling, cooking classes, and newsletters that suggested high daily targets: five servings of veggies plus 16 oz. of vegetable juice; three servings of fruit; 30 grams of fiber; and 15 to 20 percent of energy intake from fat. The comparison group of 1551 women only received print materials describing the standard "5-A-Day" dietary guidelines.

Over the roughly 7-year study period, the study authors "found no evidence that adoption of a dietary pattern very high in vegetables, fruit, and fiber and low in fat vs. a 5-a-day fruit and vegetable diet prevents breast cancer recurrence or death among women with previously treated early stage breast cancer," they write. Bottom line: While loading up on fruits and veggies (and limiting your fat intake) is great for your overall health, it's not a cancer cure.