A study published this week in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, recommends eating at least five fruits and vegetables a day to live longer and prevent diseases.  This study reaffirms decades of nutritional research which shows a diet rich in fruits and vegetables improves immune function, prevents diseases, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and stroke, resulting in an increased lifespan.

In the analysis of data representing two million people around the world, researchers determined that two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables were “associated with the great longevity,” noting that those who ate five servings a day had a 13% lower risk of premature death, a 12% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, a 10% lower risk of death from cancer, and a 35% lower risk of death from respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).