London (PTI): Vegetarian diet and fresh fruits contribute to a longer life, suggested a study which showed that it gives protection against a wide variety of cancers.

Scientists attending the First International Congress on Nutrition and Cancer in Turkey last week discussed the effect of nutrition on skin health as well as on malignancies.

Professor Walter Willett, of Harvard University, suggested increase in the intake of fruit and vegetables to prevent cancer.

He said this would be particularly useful in reducing cancers of the head and neck, such as those of the mouth, throat and oesophagus as well as those of the gastrointestinal tract and, above all, prostate, breast and ovaries, the Times online reported on Thursday.

Other studies have suggested that one can cut cancer risk with just 30 minutes of exercise daily. Researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that people who do at least half-an-hour of exercise everyday have a 34 per cent lower chance of being killed by cancer than those who do not.

"The study shows, for the first time, the effect that very simple and basic daily exercise such as walking or cycling has in reducing cancer death risk in middle-aged and elderly men," lead researcher Prof Alicja Wolk said.

They monitored the health and exercise levels of over 40,000 men, aged between 45 and 79, for seven years to reach the conclusion, the 'British Journal of Cancer' reported.