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Pillars of health

Food

Food is about what to add. WHO advises everyone over 10 to eat at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day.

Level: Feelings · Living feelingsOfficial position · World Health Organization, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

What science says

  1. A meta-analysis of 95 studies: every 200 g of fruit and vegetables a day is associated with a 10% lower risk of death, and the risk kept falling up to 800 g a day. These are observational data.

    Meta-analysis of observational studiesInternational Journal of Epidemiology (Aune D et al.), 2017 (opens in a new tab)

  2. By the Global Burden of Disease estimate, 11 million deaths in 2017 were linked to diet. The three leading factors — a lot of sodium (salt), few whole grains and little fruit: two of the three are a shortage, not an excess.

    Global estimateThe Lancet (GBD 2017 Diet Collaborators), 2019 (opens in a new tab)

  3. WHO advises adults to have less than 5 g of salt a day — just under a teaspoon. On average, adults worldwide ate 11 g of salt a day (2021).

    Official positionWorld Health Organization, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  4. In the American Gut project (over 10,000 volunteers) the diversity of gut microbes was linked to the number of different plants in the diet, not to labels like «vegan» or «omnivore». It compared people eating more than 30 types of plants a week with those eating 10 or fewer. This is an observation, not an experiment.

    Observational studymSystems (McDonald D et al.), 2018 (opens in a new tab)

  5. At the heart of eating, for WHO, is variety: many different nutritious foods within each food group and across groups. Frozen and canned fruit and vegetables without added sugar or excess salt count too.

    Official positionWorld Health Organization, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  6. Eating at regular times and drinking enough fluids is one of the simple anchors WHO names for stressful days.

    Official positionWorld Health Organization, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Daily anchor

  • 400 g of fruit and vegetables — fresh, frozen or canned without added sugar or excess salt.[1] Source
  • Salt — under 5 g, just under a teaspoon.[4] Source
  • Over the week — as many different plants as you can: vegetables, fruit, grains, pulses, nuts, greens.[5] Source

How to start

Three small steps for this week.

  1. Add one plant this week that has not been on your plate for a while: a new grain, pulses or greens.
  2. Cook with someone — family, neighbours or at a cooking class nearby.
  3. Give meals a regular time and a place at the table — no screen, no rush.

Important. If you have a condition where diet matters, the details are worth discussing with a doctor.

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Sources

  1. 1Healthy diet — fact sheet (opens in a new tab) — World Health Organization, 2026
  2. 2Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality — a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies (opens in a new tab) — International Journal of Epidemiology (Aune D et al.), 2017
  3. 3Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (opens in a new tab) — The Lancet (GBD 2017 Diet Collaborators), 2019
  4. 4Sodium reduction — fact sheet (opens in a new tab) — World Health Organization, 2026
  5. 5American Gut: an Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research (opens in a new tab) — mSystems (McDonald D et al.), 2018
  6. 6Stress — questions and answers (opens in a new tab) — World Health Organization, 2026