According to new figures published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, an amazing 33,000 lives could be saved each year if we all followed dietary guidelines, with our five portions of fruit and vegetables a day having the biggest effect, say experts at Oxford University. The UK daily guidelines are pretty simple - eat five portions of fruit and veg, no more than 6g of salt, and keep saturated fat to 10% of total energy intake. However, only a third of Britons consume enough fruit and veg. Eating five portions of fruit and veg a day would save 15,000 lives, including 7,000 from heart disease, almost 5,000 from cancer and around 3,000 from stroke. Another 4,000 deaths would be prevented by sticking to dietary recommendations on fibre; around 7,000 from watching fat intake and 7,500 by reducing salt Dr Peter Scarborough, from Oxford University, who led the research, said: "Meeting dietary recommendations would have a massive effect on the health of the nation. According to our model, the biggest impact would be eating more fruit and veg. But this doesn't mean you should just stop at five - the more the better."
