Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day is healthier than the five currently recommended and would prolong lives, researchers say.
A study of 65,226 men and women indicated the more fruit and vegetables people ate, the less likely they were to die - at any age.
"Seven a day" cut death risk by 42%, "five a day" by 29%, it indicated.
But the government says its "five-a-day" advice is sufficient and that many of us struggle to achieve even this.
Experts said other lifestyle factors, such as not smoking or drinking excessively, may have accounted for the drop in mortality, not just fruit and veg consumption, although the study authors said they had tried to account for this.
The University College London researchers used the National Health Survey, which collects data from people in the UK each year through questionnaires and nurse visits, to look at diet and lifestyle.
They analysed data between 2001 and 2008, which provided a snapshot rather than people's continuing dietary habits throughout the seven-year period.
Death risk from any cause decreased as fruit and veg consumption increased.
Risk of death by any cause was reduced by:
14% by eating one to three portions of fruit or veg per day
29% for three to five
36% for five to seven
42% for seven or more
Fresh vegetables had the strongest protective effect, followed by salad and then fruit.
Fruit juice conferred no benefit, while canned fruit appeared to increase the risk of death - possibly because it is stored in sugary syrup, say the researchers.
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