Results of a recent study suggest that fruit and vegetables may confer their health benefits by boosting blood levels of vitamin-C. Researchers at the University of California found that people who ate roughly three servings of fruit and vegetables each day had significantly higher blood levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin-C). Previous research has suggested that the carotenoid content of plant foods, however blood levels of carotenoids did not rise as high as the researchers had expected. Thus suggesting that vitamin-C may well be the key health-giving ingredient in many foods.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 2001; 154:1113-1118