Your mother always told you to eat more fruits and vegetables.  Now, there's more new research supporting that Mom was right.  New research data support a regular diet including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean meats-- the diet recommended in current dietary guidelines.  This has now been shown to be associated with decreased risk of mortality in women, according to a recent article in The Journal of the American Medical Association (4/26/01).

Researchers from Queens College in New York studied data from more than 42,000 women with an average age of 61 from the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project. 

After analyzing the daily diets of these women, they were given a recommended food score (RFS). The RFS was calculated by adding the food servings fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean meats and poultry consumed at least once a week.   After a follow-up of 5.6 years, the data showed an association between RFS and death from cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, and all other causes combined. Women in the highest intake level of recommended foods had 30 percent lower risk of death from all causes compared with those in the lowest level.

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Created: 7/20/2001  -  Donnica Moore, M.D.