Fruit and vegetable consumption and LDL cholesterol: the National

Background: An elevated LDL-cholesterol concentration is asso-ciated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The asso-ciation between fruit and vegetable consumption and LDL has been inconsistent. Objective: The objective was to determine whether a high intake of fruit and vegetables is inversely associated with LDL concen-trations. Design: We used data collected from 4466 subjects in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study to study the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and serum LDL. We used a food-frequency questionnaire to assess fruit and vegetable intakes and regression models to estimate adjusted mean LDL according to fruit and vegetable consumption. Results: The mean (SD) age of the men (n 2047) was 51.5 14.0 y and that of the women (n 2419) was 52.2 13.7 y. The average daily serving of fruit and vegetables was 3.2 1.7 for men and was 3.5 1.8 for women. Fruit and vegetable consump-tion was inversely related to LDL: in the categories 0–1.9, 2.0–2.9, 3.0–3.9, and 4 servings/d, multivariate-adjusted mean (95 % CI) LDL concentrations were 3.36 (3.28, 3.44), 3.35 (3.27, 3.43), 3.26 (3.17, 3.35), and 3.17 (3.09, 3.25) mmol/L, respectively, for men (