According to the Australian Dietary Guideline recommendation for seniors, you should eat two servings of fruit and five of vegetables every day. Alas, only 8% of seniors actually do that.
The reason, according to New Scientist last month, is that there is no apparent reason for this recommendation. That has now changed. Just half a cup of broccoli a day can help older people avoid being hospitalised for a fall, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found.
Researchers from the School of Medical and Health Sciences studied the diets of a group 1485 Western Australian women above the age of 70 and counted the number of falls that resulted in them being hospitalised over 15 years.
They also collected data on their intakes of 24 vegetables and 11 fruits. Potatoes cooked in fat and tinned and frozen fruit and fruit juices were excluded.
The researchers measured grip strength and TUG (timed up and go – the time it takes a person to rise from a chair walk three metres and return to the chair). These provide measures of upper body strength and physical performance respectively.
Higher intake of vegetables (more than three serves a day) were associated with a 26 per cent lower risk of falls, improved grip strength and faster TUG times, with cruciferous vegetables (Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli) giving the best response.
Haveagonews.com.au reported how other vegetables have a similar, but less pronounced effect and while response to fruit consumption did not reach significance there was a positive trend to reduced falls with greater daily consumption.
