Fruit and vegetable intake and serum cholesterol levels: a cross- sectional study in the Diet, Cancer and Health cohort

The aim of this study was to investigate, in a cross-sectional study, whether the intake of fruits and vegetables was associated with lower serum cholesterol levels. The groupings of interest for this study were apples, other fruits, and vegetables. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 42,972 men and women included in the Diet, Cancer and Health cohort (1993 – 1997). This population excluded persons with self-reported cardiovascular risk factors, in order to ensure a “heart-healthy ” population. Among men, both apple and vegetable intake was found to be associated with significantly lower serum cholesterol levels. An increase in apple intake of 50 g d–1 was associated with a 0.04 mmol l–1 lower serum cholesterol level. Furthermore, analyses combining vegetable and alcohol intake showed lower serum cholesterol levels in men with a low alcohol intake ( ≤ 10 g d–1). For women, the same pattern was seen for apples and vegetables, albeit to a lesser extent for apples. Analyses combining vegetable intake and waist circumference measurements showed that women with a smaller waist circumference had lower levels of serum cholesterol. Our findings thus provide some support for previous inverse associations found between higher apple intake and lower serum cholesterol levels. Ahigh intake of fruits and vegetables has beenassociated with a lower incidence of a variety of cancers and coronary heart disease (CHD; Dauche