Through Prevention Minnesota, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is on a mission to tackle preventable diseases such as heart disease and cancer with strategies based on proven science. Now we’re adding healthy eating to our tobacco cessation and physical activity initiatives. After all, healthier Minnesotans enjoy life more and make our community stronger.

While some foods put the body at risk, others are literal lifesavers. Check out what eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can do for you:

• May protect against cancer
• Lower the chances of developing cardiovascular disease
• Reduce likelihood of heart attack or stroke
• Lower cholesterol
• Help control weight
• Help lower high blood pressure

In most of the studies looking at large groups of people, eating more fruits and vegetables has been linked to a lower risk of lung, oral, esophageal, stomach and colon cancers. Because we don’t know which of the many compounds in these foods are most helpful, the best advice is to eat five or more servings of an assortment of colorful fruits and vegetables each day.¹

A 14-year Harvard study that followed almost 110,000 people found that the higher the average daily intake of fruits and vegetables, the lower the chances of developing cardiovascular disease.²

Increasing fruit and vegetable intake by as little as one serving per day can have a real impact on heart disease risk. In two Harvard studies, for every extra serving of fruits and vegetables that participants added to their diets, their risk of heart disease dropped by 4 percent.³

Eating more fruits and vegetables can also help lower cholesterol. In the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Family Heart Study, the men and women who consumed more than four servings a day had significantly lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.⁴

Fruits and vegetables also provide essential nutrients, fiber and other substances that are important for good health. And incorporating vegetables and fruits into a daily diet can help with weight control as well as health. Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling.^5,6

The unfortunate fact is that four out of five of us in Minnesota do not eat enough fruits and vegetables each day.⁷ Our goal is to double the number of us who are eating at least five servings daily. It’s simple. Fruits and vegetables are critical building blocks of health and we all should be eating plenty of them.

1. Kushi L, Byers T, Doyle C, Bandera E, McCullough M, Gansler T, Andrews K, Thun M, and The American Cancer Society 2006 Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. (2006). American Cancer Society Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention. Reducing the Risk of Cancer with Healthy Food Choices and Physical Activity. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 56: 254-281.

2. Hung HC, Joshipura KJ, Jiang R, et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and risk of major chronic disease. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2004; 96:1577-84.

3. Trust for America’s Health. (2008). Prevention for a Healthier America: Investment in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings, Stronger Communities.

http://healthyamericans.org/reports/prevention08/Prevention08.pdf

4. Djousse L, Arnett DK, Coon H, Province MA, Moore LL, Ellison RC. Fruit and vegetable consumption and LDL cholesterol: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2004; 79:213-

5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Nutrition for Everyone: Fruits and Vegetables. Retrieved 10/28/08:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_everyone/index.htm

6. Appel LJ, Sacks FM, Carey VJ, et al. Effects of protein, monounsaturated fat, and carbohydrate intake on blood pressure and serum lipids: Results of the Omniheart randomized trial. JAMA. 2005:2455-64

7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System: Calculated Variables and Risk Factors. Retrieved November 3, 2008:
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/BRFSS/display.asp?cat=OB&yr=2007&qkey=4409&state=MN