To get the full picture let's back up to the beginning where we need to ask "where did 5 a day come from"? There is overwhelming evidence that eating fruit and vegetables protects us from an early death because it has a double whammy of providing us with lots of nutrients like vitamins, minerals and fibre which protect us from disease while being low in saturated fat and salt which increase our risk of long term health problems and early death.
The World Health Organisation recommends eating at least 400g fruit and vegetables a day to reduce risk of cancer and heart disease. This recommendation came from a 2003 WHO/FAO conference which reviewed the evidence from around the globe. In the UK it was known people were not eating anywhere near this amount but the recommendation was hard to follow (who carries scales around with hem when they eat?) So the department of health filtered all this information into something that was digestible for people to use in their busy lives - I mean who has time to read review articles, and interpret all the statistics and come to conclusions somewhere between finishing work and making dinner? The came up with eat 5-a-day.
5 a day can get criticised for being over simplified but the fact is there is a lifetimes worth of reading on the subject and we need a message we can all understand and put into practice in between our busy lives. 5 a day is actually a very good one. When I'm thinking about what I will have for dinner I can quickly reflect "have I had my 5 today" and add up 2 pieces of fruit and some salad at lunch - then I need 2 serves of vegetables at dinner.
Now that we have looked at the background we can think about - is 5 enough? Or do we need 7 or 9 serves of vegetables and fruit?
The article released in April 2014 that made global headlines was a study reviewing evidence from 65,000 English adults who participated in the Health Survey for England. The researches looked at the answers for number of serves of fruit and vegetables eating and then followed up mortality rates over 7 years. Results suggested those who ate 7 serves of fruit and vegetables had reduced risk of early death.
Whether it is 5 or 7 is actually irrelevant for most people - because on average we only eat 3 a day. The simple message is eat more fruit and vegetables. Or even better - eat more fruit and vegetables instead of foods that increase risk of early death.
The most recent study is an international study which reviewed the evidence from all cohort studies I on the subject (called a systematic review). It was carried out by researchers in china and the US. It reviews evidence from 16 studies of over 833,000 people which followed subjects for between 4.5 and 26 years. It concludes eating more fruit and vegetables reduces risk of early death, but after 5 serves there was no further reduction in death risk. This is not saying that you can't or shouldn't have more than that. The conclusion was just that the benefits plateau off after 5 serves.
So what should I do about all this information? Even I this very short article there sis lot to take in. I studied his for 5 years and everyday in my work practice have to keep on top of the latest information - and still find I have to work hard to keep up. But the crux of what we recommend day to day hasn't changed.
1. Eat at least 5 serves of fruit and vegetables every day. If it's too hard to count just est more. A serve is 80g of vegetables, a medium piece of fruit or 2 smaller pieces of fruit. Remember canned, dried and frozen count too. Fried fruit, fruit juice and beans only count as one serve no matter how much you have because having more than that is cariogenic (makes holes) for our teeth.
2. Swap your treat foods for fruit and vegetables most of the time and save treats for a real treat. Have a piece of fruit or vege sticks as a snack, fill your plate with salad or vegetables and try fruit based desserts and suppers if you eat these eg yoghurt and berries, baked apples with cinnamon, fresh seasonal fruit.
3. If you've had your 5 a day and you're still hungry it's ok to eat more. Having 6 serves isn't going to harm you it just doesn't have added benefit. It's still a whole lot better than reaching for a sugary snack to fill you up. Keep fresh or canned fruit in the house and reach for that instead of a biscuit when you're hungry (remember to think twice about whether you are hungry or if you might be thirsty or bored instead).
4. Adding more vegetables at main meals can save us money. Meat is a expensive food and most of us eat too much. Filling out plate wig vegetables and having smaller pieces of meat can save money. Some recipes can be bulked up with vegetables, beans, lentils and meat can be reduced without the result changing eg spaghetti bolognaise, casserole, stir fry, omelette, lasagne. When reading a recipe allow 80-100g meat per person and make up the weight difference with vegetables. To save more money remember in many recipes canned and frozen taste just as good and cost a lot less.
The World Health Organisation recommends eating at least 400g fruit and vegetables a day to reduce risk of cancer and heart disease. This recommendation came from a 2003 WHO/FAO conference which reviewed the evidence from around the globe. In the UK it was known people were not eating anywhere near this amount but the recommendation was hard to follow (who carries scales around with hem when they eat?) So the department of health filtered all this information into something that was digestible for people to use in their busy lives - I mean who has time to read review articles, and interpret all the statistics and come to conclusions somewhere between finishing work and making dinner? The came up with eat 5-a-day.
5 a day can get criticised for being over simplified but the fact is there is a lifetimes worth of reading on the subject and we need a message we can all understand and put into practice in between our busy lives. 5 a day is actually a very good one. When I'm thinking about what I will have for dinner I can quickly reflect "have I had my 5 today" and add up 2 pieces of fruit and some salad at lunch - then I need 2 serves of vegetables at dinner.
Now that we have looked at the background we can think about - is 5 enough? Or do we need 7 or 9 serves of vegetables and fruit?
The article released in April 2014 that made global headlines was a study reviewing evidence from 65,000 English adults who participated in the Health Survey for England. The researches looked at the answers for number of serves of fruit and vegetables eating and then followed up mortality rates over 7 years. Results suggested those who ate 7 serves of fruit and vegetables had reduced risk of early death.
Whether it is 5 or 7 is actually irrelevant for most people - because on average we only eat 3 a day. The simple message is eat more fruit and vegetables. Or even better - eat more fruit and vegetables instead of foods that increase risk of early death.
The most recent study is an international study which reviewed the evidence from all cohort studies I on the subject (called a systematic review). It was carried out by researchers in china and the US. It reviews evidence from 16 studies of over 833,000 people which followed subjects for between 4.5 and 26 years. It concludes eating more fruit and vegetables reduces risk of early death, but after 5 serves there was no further reduction in death risk. This is not saying that you can't or shouldn't have more than that. The conclusion was just that the benefits plateau off after 5 serves.
So what should I do about all this information? Even I this very short article there sis lot to take in. I studied his for 5 years and everyday in my work practice have to keep on top of the latest information - and still find I have to work hard to keep up. But the crux of what we recommend day to day hasn't changed.
1. Eat at least 5 serves of fruit and vegetables every day. If it's too hard to count just est more. A serve is 80g of vegetables, a medium piece of fruit or 2 smaller pieces of fruit. Remember canned, dried and frozen count too. Fried fruit, fruit juice and beans only count as one serve no matter how much you have because having more than that is cariogenic (makes holes) for our teeth.
2. Swap your treat foods for fruit and vegetables most of the time and save treats for a real treat. Have a piece of fruit or vege sticks as a snack, fill your plate with salad or vegetables and try fruit based desserts and suppers if you eat these eg yoghurt and berries, baked apples with cinnamon, fresh seasonal fruit.
3. If you've had your 5 a day and you're still hungry it's ok to eat more. Having 6 serves isn't going to harm you it just doesn't have added benefit. It's still a whole lot better than reaching for a sugary snack to fill you up. Keep fresh or canned fruit in the house and reach for that instead of a biscuit when you're hungry (remember to think twice about whether you are hungry or if you might be thirsty or bored instead).
4. Adding more vegetables at main meals can save us money. Meat is a expensive food and most of us eat too much. Filling out plate wig vegetables and having smaller pieces of meat can save money. Some recipes can be bulked up with vegetables, beans, lentils and meat can be reduced without the result changing eg spaghetti bolognaise, casserole, stir fry, omelette, lasagne. When reading a recipe allow 80-100g meat per person and make up the weight difference with vegetables. To save more money remember in many recipes canned and frozen taste just as good and cost a lot less.
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