fruit and vegetable
Fruit and vegetables are important elements of a healthy, balanced diet, be it as part of a main meal or as a snack. They bring us vitamins, minerals and fibre, some energy (mainly in the form of sugar), as well as certain minor components - often referred to as phytochemicals or secondary plant products - which are potentially beneficial for our health. Epidemiological studies have shown that high intakes of fruit and vegetables are associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases; particularly, cardiovascular disease , also type 2 diabetes , and certain cancers i.e. of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophageal, stomach and lungs .
A majority of European citizens associate a healthy diet with fruit and vegetable consumption, and many of them believe that their diet is healthy . But is this true? Do people in Europe actually get the amounts of fruit and vegetables recommended for good health? Aiming to answer this question, this review also looks deeper into what factors influence fruit and vegetable consumption in Europe, and what are the best intervention approaches to increase it. Lastly, we will have a glance at on-going European initiatives around fruit and vegetable consumption.
First of all, we need to understand which foods and drinks fall into the category of fruit and vegetables, how much we are recommended to have of these and why it might be difficult to obtain reliable and comparable data on fruit and vegetable consumption.