Eating seven or more servings of vegetables and fruits a day can lower people's risk of dying, suggests a new study.

The study also found that fresh vegetables may be slightly more protective than fresh fruit, and canned fruit may actually increase the risk of death, reports Fox News.

Researchers analyzed information from more than 65,000 people in England ages 35 and older who answered questions about their eating habits.

People who ate seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables were 42 percent less likely to die from any cause over a nearly eight-year period, compared with those who ate less than one serving a day.

Eating fewer than seven servings was also beneficial, although the protective effect was not as strong: People who ate one to three servings were 14 percent less likely to die during the study; those who ate three to five servings were 29 percent less likely to die, and those who ate five to seven servings were 36 percent less likely to die, compared to people who ate less than one serving.

However, each serving of canned or frozen fruit increased the risk of death by 17 percent. The high levels of sugar found in canned fruit may outweigh the benefits of the fruit, said study researcher Oyinlola Oyebode, of the University of California, Los An