who eats the recommended 5 portions of fruit and veg a day?

luke · Post by **luke** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:39 pm

its recommended we eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. every day.

i think i probably do most days, i'll usually have a couple of bits of fruit throughout the day ( fruit juice counts as well ) and with what i make for dinner i try to get the rest of the veg in, but some days i'm a bit lazy and i'll just have something with baked beans ( although they do count towards your 5! )

who gets their 5 a day?

[web]https://www.5aday.nhs.uk/topTips/default.html[/web]

Post by **faceless** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:58 pm

I eat carrots and potatoes fairly regular and make my own soup a lot during the winter, so that's close enough for me.

Post by **eefanincan** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:55 pm

I'm working hard on this one, but not quite there. I don't do the juice thing, because, although they say it counts, unless it's pure juice that also contains the peel, etc. you really don't get all of the benefits. Because of our work schedules, my husband and I don't always eat together, so keeping fresh produce is hard -- -we use a lot of frozen veggies though and find them to be a good alternative.

I like your idea of making soup face and maybe I'll make a nice batch this weekend. Will be perfect in this cold weather.

Post by **Skylace** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:05 pm

I usually do. Not every day is perfect.
Like eefan, I don't bother with the juice too much (Although I LOVE orange juice). Not only is it very high in calories but unless you get that 100% fruit juice you won't be getting the same benefits. It takes 3-4 oranges to make 8 oz of orange juice and that only counts for 1 serving. One orange has 37 calories and one glass of orange has 110 calories.
Since I am off of refined sugars I am actually eating a lot more fruit then before. I get the craving for something sweet and I'll have a clementine or apple, etc.

luke · Post by **luke** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:14 pm

i like juice, but i usually go for pressed instead of concentrate - is that any better calorie wise?

when i was looking for the above site i found a story on the topic;

in Britain we are told to live by the five-a-day maxim, the Danes must aim for six, the French 10, and Canadians are urged to get through between five and 10. The Japanese government, however, now recommends up to 13 portions of vegetables plus four of fruit daily

13 bits of veg and 4 fruit!!

britain is right at the bottom, and according to stories we're not even managing that

Post by **Skylace** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:51 pm

The juice I was speaking of is pressed. I never touch concentrate.

Wow! That's a lot of veggie! I don't think I could do 13 a day. But of course, what are their recommended portion sizes. I would think a daily serving size isn't universal.

luke · Post by **luke** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:43 pm

Skylace wrote:Wow! That's a lot of veggie! I don't think I could do 13 a day. But of course, what are their recommended portion sizes. I would think a daily serving size isn't universal.

from the guardian;

British recommended portions are 80g, based on a European average of portion sizes. The Japanese, who have seven to 13 vegetables and two to four fruit to aim for daily, do admittedly eat smaller portions - as little as 50g "counts". The maths, though, even if these nations got by on minimum recommendations, still leaves Britain's daily quota looking scant. In fact, when a Brit eats a "portion" of vegetables, it is about a third of a portion served up in Spain.

Post by **eefanincan** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:05 pm

13 veg & 4 fruit a day seems like a lot --- I wonder what the serving sizes are? It may actually be 6 or 7 servings compared to other places. After all, have to make sure we're comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges

SpursFan1902 · Post by **SpursFan1902** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:51 pm

Weight Watchers sorta mandates the fruit and veg and I have found it very effective. Fruit is a great snack and takes care of that afternoon sweets craving.