5 a day

What is 5 a day?

It’s a public health campaign to encourage consumption of at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetable a day. It’s based on the World Health Organization recommendation of consuming a minimum amount of 400g of fruit and vegetables per day (excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers) ⁽¹⁾, an amount that has been associated with positive health outcomes.

When talking about 5 a day, you have to bear in mind that it’s just a threshold, a 2017 meta-analysis of past research has shown that consumption of 800 g (10 a day) provides further benefits ⁽²⁾. This doesn’t mean “the sky is the limit”, but within typical consumption patterns, more is better. We will discuss them in more detail later.

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Did you know that only 29% of people in the UK are hitting their 5 a day? ⁽³⁾

I couldn’t believe that number when I first saw it, in large part because once you know what 5 a day means in practice, you realise that it’s really not that difficult to achieve.

First things first, what counts as 1 of your 5 a day?

– 80 g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables (excluding potatoes, sorry).

– 30 g of dried fruit (sultanas, dried figs, dates, dried apricots etc.).

– 150 ml of fruit juice, vegetable juice or smoothie. It’s recommended to not have more than 150 ml a day to limit the sugar intake, so the more the merrier doesn’t work here. Try limiting consumption of fruit or vegetable juices and smoothies to 150 ml a day.

– 80g of beans and pulses. No matter how much you eat these also only count as one of your 5 a day though.

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Okay so what do these numbers mean?

A medium apple (which weighs around 160 grams) actually counts as 2 a day.

A vegetable stew / curry is most likely going to give you 2-4 a day per portion.

A vegetable side is around 1-2 per portion.

A bean/pulse curry is also 1-2 a day per portion.

A handful of dried fruit is 1 a day.

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Once you know what 5 a day roughly means, hopefully it doesn’t look too difficult to stick to, yet clearly not everyone feels the same way about it, so here are a couple of easy ways to increase your fruit and veg consumption without noticing:

• Add some dried fruit to your porridge, I like raisins in mine.
• Snack on dried fruit and nuts, they make a good combo.
• Have some juice mixed with some sparkling water (1 to 1 ratio works well), it’s quite refreshing and not too sweet.
• Add some vegetables to your eggs – spinach, bell peppers and mushrooms work really well in an omelette.
• Make soups and stews with vegetables, beans and pulses. Google some Turkish dishes like green bean stew, or lentil soup, they are really good, but I know I’m biased.
• Add some hummus! It’s made from chickpeas, you know.
• Pickles in brine and sauerkraut both count and can make for an interesting side.
• Have a piece of fruit as a snack. A medium sized apple or orange count as 2 a day each!
• Make curries with beans and pulses or add them to salads!
• Have some juice mixed with some sparkling water (1 to 1 ratio works well), it’s quite refreshing and not too sweet.
• Snack on dried fruit and nuts, they make a good combo.
• And finally, the best kept secret. Roast vegetables! Not only are they delicious, but they also greatly reduce in size and weight while cooking while maintaining most of their nutrients. 5 a day calculations are based on raw weight, so a large helping of roasted carrots, onions and peppers with your dinner can be 5 servings on its own!

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Here’s an example, which shows that 5 a day can take on a variety of different looks.

Mix raisins into your porridge (1) and pour 150ml of your favourite juice into your water bottle (2). Put some hummus (and maybe a couple of salad leaves) into your lunch sandwich (3). Have an apple as a snack and there you go (5!).

This also means that if you eat vegetables during your meals as either a side or a main, you will be getting into the 10 a day territory before you know it. When it comes to vegetable consumption, more is better for a number of reasons, but please stick to common sense, there is no need for crazy broccoli-only diets 🙂

As you can guess by now, there a lot more options for incorporating more fruit and veg into your diet, but I hope the ones above give you an idea on where to start on your goal to hit 5 a day and you are on your way to the 10 a day territory!

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References:

1. Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases [Internet]. World Health Organization. 2019 [cited 29 January 2019]. Available from: https://www.who.int/elena/titles/fruit_vegetables_ncds/en/
2. Aune D, Giovannucci E, Boffetta P, Fadnes L, Keum N, Norat T et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality—a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2017;46(3):1029-1056.
3. Fruit & vegetables [Internet]. Health Survey for England. 2019 [cited 29 January 2019]. Available from: http://healthsurvey.hscic.gov.uk/data-visualisation/data-visualisation/explore-the-trends/fruit-vegetables.aspx