How does one benefit from eating fruits and vegetables?

A diet rich in green and yellow vegetables inhibits the development of hardening of the arteries and may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Eating vegetables and fruits may reduce cholesterol; prevent build- up of fatty deposits in the arteries, according to a study on mice. US researchers led by Michael Adams at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine assessed the effect of diet on heart disease by studying mice. Half of the studied mice were fed a vegetable-free diet and half the mice were fed a diet that included broccoli, green beans, corn, peas and carrots. After 16 weeks, researchers measured cholesterol content in the blood vessels and plaques in the arteries of the mice. They found 38% less build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries of mice that were fed a mixture of vegetables, including carrots and peas.
Eating raw fruits and vegetables is healthy partly because of their high fiber content. Research now shows that the cooked versions of these same foods maintain just about the same amount of fiber.
IANS

Fruit research yields way to curb cancer

Reuters. Jerusalem
Scientists at an Israeli university have found a promising new way to stop the growth and spread of cancer cells while carrying out research to boost the size of peaches and nectarines, the university said on Sunday.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists found that a protein similar to one researched in their project had the effect of blocking blood supply to tumors. “By blocking the blood supply to the tumors, actibind halted the ability of malignant cells to move through the blood stream,” the university said. “Their approach has been shown to inhibit the malignant cells without affecting normal cells and without the severe side effects of traditional treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy,” it said.
Oded Shoseyov, who led the research, said his team had succeeded in using the protein to reduce the number of fruits on a tree, thereby increasing the size of each fruit. The technique worked by inhibiting the growth of pollen cells.