Eating 5 servings (about 400 g) of fruits and vegetables daily

It costs only a few to a dozen yuan per day. You’ll also need some time each day to wash and cut them. The real challenge is making sure to buy and eat the required amount every single day.

When pooling data from multiple observational studies (without subgroup analysis), an extra 200 g of fruits and vegetables daily reduces mortality risk by about 10% (RR 0.90). This protective effect remains consistent up to 800 g per day. A combined analysis of two large US cohort studies and 26 other studies shows that those eating 5 servings daily have a 13% lower mortality risk than those eating only 2 servings (HR 0.87). The optimal combination is 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables; any extra servings beyond that do not provide additional benefit.

Aune D 等 (2017). Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. International Journal of Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyw319；Wang DD 等 (2021). Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality: Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies of US Men and Women and a Meta-Analysis of 26 Cohort Studies. Circulation. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.048996

It is sufficient to eat 5 servings daily — there is no need to reach 10 servings, as both studies agree on this point. Keep in mind that these studies are purely observational, so they are prone to confounding factors: people who eat more fruits and vegetables tend to have higher incomes, better education levels, and engage in more physical activity. Therefore, the reported 10% risk reduction represents an upper limit estimate.