Nutrigenomic Study supports the 5 a day recommendation
27 May 2010
J. Valverde
Five portions of fruit and vegetables recommendation has been supported by the results of a recent study conducted in the University of Navarra in Spain.
The study shows that healthy people with highest intakes of fruit and vegetables have significantly lower levels of biomarkers of inflammation. Chronic inflammation has been linked to a range of conditions linked to heart disease, osteoporosis and type-2-diabetes.
This study therefore supports the 5 a day recommendation, which has been lately questioned after the results of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). The EPIC study concluded that there was a very small inverse association between intake of fruits and vegetables and cancer risk (ca 4%).
However the nutrigenomic study reports benefits on inflammation biomarkers, more related with cardiovascular diseases.
This adds more sound scientific evidence to claim that a higher intake of fruit and vegetables (660 grams per day) is associated with a significant reduction in levels of markers of inflammation.
Researchers recruited 120 healthy subjects. Levels of proinflammatory markers were assessed by measuring the expression of mRNA in white blood cells, while the intake s of fruits nad vegetables were assessed by a questionnaire. Highest intake of fruit and vegetables were associated with lower concentrations of C-reactive protein and lower expression of interleukin-6 amongst some other biomarkers.
For further details on this study please see:
Hermsdorff, H. H.; Zulet, M. A.; Puchau, B.; Martinez, J. A., Fruit and vegetable consumption and proinflammatory gene expression from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in young adults: a translational study. Nutrition & Metabolism 7, (1), 42.
The journal is open access and the article can be freely viewed at the following link
