New research from Harvard University: These 19 kinds of "high metabolic quality fruits and vegetables" reduce the risk of chronic diseases!

Fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of a balanced diet. They not only enrich our diet and enhance our sense of fullness, but also provide us with nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, etc., which help prevent the occurrence of chronic diseases.

There are many kinds of fruits and vegetables in nature, and different fruits and vegetables have different effects on health. Which ones contribute more to health? How can we eat them scientifically to maximize their disease prevention value? This article will answer your questions based on the latest research!

New research: These 19 fruits and vegetables

Can reduce the risk of chronic diseases

As the health of the global population continues to improve, life expectancy has increased significantly. However, chronic diseases have become the world's largest disease burden. In recent years, the incidence of chronic diseases among Chinese residents has increased year by year, and is showing a trend of younger people. More than 190 million elderly people suffer from chronic diseases, and the prevalence of hypertension among residents aged 18 and above is 25%, and the rate of dyslipidemia is 40%.

When it comes to preventing chronic diseases , ensuring adequate intake of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet is an important part . It can also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, and reduce the risk of lung cancer.

In May 2024, researchers from Harvard University published a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which evaluated 19 kinds of "high metabolic quality fruits and vegetables", further confirming the positive effect of eating more fruits and vegetables in preventing chronic diseases.

The study included data from three large prospective cohort studies with a total of nearly 42,000 people, with a follow-up period of ≤32 years. The association between 14 biomarkers (blood sugar/insulin, inflammatory indicators, endothelial function, adipose factors, and lipids, a total of 5 categories) and each type of vegetable/fruit was compared and analyzed.

If a participant's daily intake of 1 serving of fruits and vegetables improves a certain type of biomarker (decreased or increased concentration), they will receive 1 point; the scores of each food in the 5 biomarker groups are then added together, and fruits and vegetables with a total score ≥ 2 points are considered "high metabolic quality fruits and vegetables."

The results showed that among the 52 kinds of fruits and vegetables, 19 were identified as "high metabolic quality fruits and vegetables", which are:

5 Group: Apple/Pear

4 groups: lettuce, raw spinach, alfalfa sprouts, eggplant/zucchini, grapes/raisins, broccoli, celery, kale, green/red peppers

3 groups: raw carrots, broccoli, romaine lettuce or leaf lettuce

2 groups: blueberry, grapefruit, orange, prune, mushroom, banana

This means that the more "high metabolic quality fruits and vegetables" you consume in your diet, the lower your risk of chronic diseases . They are rich in nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, beta-carotene, flavonoids and dietary fiber, and low in sugar content, which help reduce the risk of chronic diseases through various protective mechanisms, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties, and lowering blood pressure.

In addition to "high metabolic quality fruits and vegetables", those with a total score of less than 2 points and failed to produce a positive effect are "medium and low metabolic quality fruits and vegetables"

＜2 groups (medium and low metabolic quality fruits and vegetables): avocado, cucumber, tomato, peach, apricot, plum, strawberry, juice, beans, yam/sweet potato, baked/mashed/boiled potato, pickles, pumpkin, cantaloupe, canned fruit, etc.

Vegetables and fruits with medium and low metabolic quality need to be consumed in moderation . Excessive consumption will not reduce the risk of chronic diseases and may even increase the risk of diabetes by 13%.

Based on this study, if you want to better prevent the occurrence of chronic diseases, you can choose more "high metabolic quality fruits and vegetables" in your diet. It is not that you cannot eat fruits and vegetables with medium and low metabolic quality. Different foods can provide us with different nutrients to meet the needs of food diversification. You just need to control the intake .

What are the dangers of eating less fruits and vegetables?

Although eating more fruits and vegetables is good for health, some people are busy with work and often ignore the intake of fruits and vegetables, while others just don’t like to eat them. For these two groups of people, insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables is common.

Research has found that insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables is one of the top ten risk factors for death in people around the world. What harm will it cause to the body if you often eat less fruits and vegetables?

1

Increased risk of constipation

Fruits and vegetables are an important source of dietary fiber in the diet. The soluble dietary fiber can absorb water and swell, increasing the volume of stool and making the stool soft and easy to excrete; insoluble dietary fiber can stimulate the mechanical movement of the gastrointestinal tract and promote the excretion of feces from the body.

If you eat very few fruits and vegetables and do not consume enough dietary fiber, it will not be conducive to the excretion of feces and will increase the risk of constipation.

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2

Easy to gain weight

The dietary fiber in fruits and vegetables is not only helpful in preventing constipation, but also can enhance satiety and help us control appetite. In addition, the calories in fruits and vegetables are relatively low among many types of food. If you eat less fruits and vegetables in your diet, you will inevitably increase the intake of other types of food, which may lead to high calorie intake and make people gain weight.

Eating more fruits and vegetables is a good way to reduce energy intake and control weight.

3

Increased inflammatory response in the body

Our bodies may have some chronic inflammation at some stage. Vitamin C, vitamin E, phytochemicals and other ingredients in fresh fruits and vegetables have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, which can help us resist chronic inflammation. If you eat less fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, it will increase the occurrence of inflammatory responses in the body.

4

Increased risk of cancer

Eating less fruits and vegetables will increase the body's inflammatory response, and persistent chronic inflammation in the body will increase the risk of cancer. Increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables can reduce the incidence of lung cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and colon cancer, and increasing the intake of cruciferous vegetables can reduce the risk of gastric cancer and breast cancer.

5

Increased risk of cardiovascular disease

Insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables is the main dietary risk factor for cardiovascular disease in Chinese residents. In addition, low fruit intake is also the number one dietary factor for hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes. Studies have shown that increasing fruit and vegetable intake can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and death.

Eat fruits and vegetables like this

Maximize disease prevention value

1

Eat the recommended amount

The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents recommends that each person should eat 300-500 grams of vegetables and 200-350 grams of fruit every day. It is best to have vegetables at every meal and eat fruit every day. Make sure that the weight of vegetables accounts for 1/2 of the total meal. If you use a dinner plate, vegetables should account for half of the entire plate.

As for fruit, 200 grams of fruit is roughly equivalent to any of the following: 2 kiwis, 2 oranges, 15 large strawberries, 20 cherries, 8 to 10 prunes, 2 to 3 handfuls of blueberries.

2

Some mixed colors

When choosing fruits and vegetables, you can choose more colorful ones, and choose dark-colored fruits and vegetables . It is recommended that dark leafy vegetables account for more than half of the weight of vegetables. You should eat more dark red, dark yellow, dark green and purple vegetables. They have nutritional advantages and are rich in nutrients such as β-carotene, anthocyanin, and lycopene.

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3

Pay attention to cooking methods

For fruits , it is recommended to wash them thoroughly and eat them directly. If you can eat them with the skin, do not peel them.

The nutrition of vegetables is not only limited by factors such as variety, origin, and season, but also has a lot to do with the cooking method. To retain more nutrition from vegetables, first try to choose low-temperature cooking, such as steaming, boiling, stewing, and cold mixing, and the cooking time should not be too long ; secondly, follow the principle of washing before cutting, adding vegetables to soup, stir-frying quickly over high heat, and eating immediately after stir-frying.

In addition, cooking methods also affect the antioxidant capacity of vegetables and their ability to prevent chronic diseases. For example, in the Harvard University study mentioned above, raw carrots scored 3 points, belonging to "high metabolic quality vegetables", while boiled carrots and carrot juice scored -1 points, belonging to low metabolic quality vegetables. Moreover, French fries have worse cardiometabolic characteristics, especially hyperinsulinemia and increased inflammatory potential.

Summarize

Harvard University's new "Fruits and Vegetables Ranking" provides us with a reference guide for choosing fruits and vegetables and eating them healthily. In our daily diet, we should choose fruits and vegetables in moderation and in a variety of ways and cook them properly to maximize their disease prevention value, help us reduce the risk of chronic diseases and maintain health.

References

[1]Zhang Y, Tabung FK, Smith-Warner SA, Giovannucci E. High-quality fruit and vegetables characterized by cardiometabolic biomarkers and its relation to major chronic disease risk: results from 3 prospective United States cohort studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2024 May 25:S0002-9165(24)00514-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.05.020. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38802063.

[2] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents[M]. People's Medical Publishing House. 2022

Planning and production

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Planning丨Wang Mengru

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin