Ray of Sunshine Nutrition: The Daily Blog for Better Health: December 2011

High Fruit & Vegetable Intake fights Against Genetic Risk

It was with great heart (pardon the pun) that researchers recently highlighted the need for continued promotion of the benefits of good daily intake of fruits and vegetables to improve health and counteract the potential risk of illness and disease such as heart disease, especially for those that are more genetically susceptible to such health problems.

For myself whose own family has a genetic risk of heart disease, like many in Europe and around the world, the evidence from Canadian researchers centres on the high risk Gene, chromosome 9p21, and that regular daily consumption of 5 or more portions of Fruit and Raw Vegetable could potentially be enough to counteract this very destructive and most common of genetic faults.

Eating more Raw fruit & Vegetables could counteract Genetic faults

The evidence from a study of more than 27,000 people world wide showed that a diet packed with plentiful amounts of fruits and vegetables modified the genes influence and lowered the risk of potentially fatal heart disease to same levels as those with Low risk genetic variants.

Dr. Sonia Anand, a lead author and professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University emphasised the importance of a good regular intake as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle:

"We found that in people with this high-risk gene who consumed a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, their risk came down to that of people who don't have that gene,"

Going on to highlight the importance of the research and it's significance:

"Despite having a high genetic risk for heart disease, a healthy lifestyle can actually turn off the gene,"

Highlighting of the amount of fruits and vegetables that should be consumed daily as part of a balanced diet and lifestyle to influence health Dr Anand points out:

"We know that despite public health recommendations to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, only a minority of people take the advice seriously. Genetic information may be a motivation to help people take the public health recommendation seriously."

Within public health in the UK, it has been drummed into society for some time of the benefits of 'getting your 5-a-day', it's part of official Government Health Recommendations to the British public following evidence and recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) to consume 'a minimum' of 400g of Fruit and Vegetables daily to lower the risk of serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Variety, colour and a minimum 5 portions is all important

The UK Government through the NHS highlights the benefits of there programme as:

Fruit and vegetables taste delicious and there's so much variety to choose from.
They're a good source of vitamins and minerals, including Folate, Vitamin C and Potassium.
They're an excellent source of dietary fibre, which helps maintain a healthy gut and prevent constipation and other digestion problems. A diet high in fibre can also reduce your risk of bowel cancer.
They can help reduce the risk of Heart Disease, stroke and some cancers.
Fruit and vegetables contribute to a healthy and balanced diet.

The positive effect and influence of 5 or more portions of Fruits and vegetables on a daily basis was also previously reported from researchers at Oxford University and reported towards the end of 2010, with emphasis on an estimated 33,000 lives being saved each year in the UK alone if everyone followed the dietary Guidelines, such as those discussed above and trumpeted by WHO.

As much as l emphasize the benefits of such an approach and a regular basis to my patients, especially if they are coming from a diet with hardly any Fruits and Vegetables in it, the 5-a-day approach is a sensible start for everyone to help reduce mortality from Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer and many other chornic illness and disease.

Japanese recommendations aim for 13 -17 portions of Fruit & Veg

But importantly, the approach in other countries around Europe and in other parts of the world are for recommendations for populations to exceed the 5 portions, for instance in Japan, with a low occurrence of heart disease and many cancers, Japanese aim for 13-17 portions of Fruit and Vegetables, and even though they do tend to eat smaller portions it's still a great advance of the 'minimum' requirement of 5 portions in many countries.

That bare minimum portion consumption and resulting health benefits are highlighted in much research and how aiming higher number of portions of Fruits and Vegetables each day is very important to health, lowering risks of heart disease, certain cancers, Diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke, whilst being very important for our Immune Defences whilst being important for the health of the skin and also for our energy levels and the efficiency of our muscles.

Though some think a flawed approach, it's a good start for many

Getting Your Portions

Trying to get your minimum of between 5-10 portions of Fruits and Vegetables daily can hopefully be achieved in many different ways:

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables: 1 Apple/Pear, handful of Green or Black Grapes, handful of Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries on breakfast or as part of home made smoothie, 2 medium sized Plums, 1 Orange or 2 Satsumas, mixed vegetable sticks used for lunch or as a snack with dips such as houmous or Guacamole, Raisins/Apricots/Cranberries/Dates/Figs/ and other dried fruit as snacks or for breakfast as part of Mueseli, hand fulls of Broccoli, Kale of Spinach for lunch or dinner (raw if possible), 3 heaped tablespoons of Green peas or Sweetcorn or cooked Carrots at lunch or dinner
Cooked Vegetables for Lunch and Dinner: Vegetable curries, chilli, soups, stir-Fry's, Ratatouille, Stews made with as many vegetables as possible, fresh or frozen
Smoothies: Fresh or frozen smoothies containing mixed berries such as Raspberries, Red currents, Black currents and Blackberries, Bananas, Apples, Grape and Beetroot juice.
Juices: fresh fruit or vegetable juices, unsweetened and unsalted will always count as 1 Portion

Beans & Pulses: Kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas and other pulses and legumes will only count as 1 Portion they contain high quality Fibre important for diet, but less of the Vitamins and Minerals you will find in Fruits and Vegetables

Beneficial Freshly squeezed Juices are Only 1 Portion...no cheating!

As the research highlights, backed up by up to date advice from experts and nutritional advisors, the idea of 5-a-day should be used as the 'bare minimum' standard for our diet on a daily basis to benefit and with many of us, tackle dangerous genetic markers that can influence poor health.

Variety with Fruits and Vegetable intake is the key, not lots of the same kinds of portions all the time, lots of colour, hopefully Organic where we can get and afford it, emphasis on lot's of leafy green vegetables and colourful berries, a good amount of raw portions where we can over too much cooked fruits and vegetables will all in all help improve our diets on a daily basis, improving energy levels and helping to hopefully keep off unwanted weight gain where it is not needed and hopefully long term, especially to those genetically predisposed like myself and many others around the world, to help ward off the spectre of potentially fatal chronic illness and disease as described in the research above.

Nutrition Advice

For more benefits of a well balanced diet, healthier lifestyle and learning how to get more than 5-a-day and how you can incorporate them into your daily diet, come and visit me at the SoOrganic Greenwich Clinic.

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