Research
Micronutrients & recovery
High consumption of vegetables and fruits is associated with a significantly reduced risk of various cancers, including lung, stomach, colon, and oral cancers, primarily due to micronutrients like carotenoids, vitamin C, and folic acid.
Aim to eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruits every day, focusing on a variety of colors. This habit is strongly linked to a lower risk of many cancers. Prioritize whole foods over supplements to get the full spectrum of protective nutrients.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
In more than 200 case-control or cohort studies, persons consuming higher amounts of these foods or having higher levels of carotenoids in their blood were less prone to develop various cancers.
Why this rating
Based on over 200 studies, though the paper notes the specific active constituents are incompletely identified for some cancers.
Source
Diet and Health: What Should We Eat?
Walter C. Willett · Science · 1994
DOI 10.1126/science.8160011
narrative_reviewCited 1,012×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Replacing saturated fats with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats reduces LDL cholesterol without lowering HDL, thereby reducing coronary heart disease risk, whereas replacing saturated fats with carbohydrates may lower HDL and reduce the predicted benefit.Good
- High intake of trans fatty acids (partially hydrogenated vegetable fats) increases the risk of coronary heart disease by lowering HDL and raising LDL and lipoprotein(a).Good
- Reducing total dietary fat to 30% or less of calories, and saturated fat to less than 10%, is unlikely to have a substantial, sustained effect on body fatness or breast cancer risk, although it may modestly reduce CHD mortality.Good
Related findings · Micronutrients & recovery
- Trans fats (industrial trans-fatty acids) are unequivocally harmful and should be completely avoided as they raise LDL-C, TGs, and Apo B while lowering HDL-C.Strong
- For menopausal women with osteoporosis, first-line pharmacologic therapies include alendronate, risedronate, zoledronic acid, and denosumab for the prevention of hip, nonvertebral, and vertebral fractures.Strong
- Folic acid fortification of flour prevents neural tube birth defects, and mandatory fortification is more effective than voluntary supplementation alone.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →