Do you get your five a day?
Have you heard about the diet guidelines of 5 A Day? Of course you have, but do you know what a portion size actually is?
New research shows that nearly two-thirds of British adults don't.
This means that people may be further from reaching the 5 A Day target than they think which could impact their health in the long term.
Nine in 10 adults mistakenly think five or even three florets of cauliflower count as one of their 5 A Day, when in fact you need to eat eight. Eight in 10 wrongly believe three or five slices of tinned peaches count as one portion when you need to have seven slices. Just over a quarter are confused about juice and didn’t realise just 150ml of 100% pure unsweetened orange juice counts as one portion.
Which foods and drink counts as one of your 5 A Day?
The research, carried out by Tropicana, found that further confusion exists around which food and drink items count towards one of your 5 A Day, with half of adults incorrectly thinking potatoes count.
The top food and drink items people incorrectly believe don't count towards one of your 5 A Day include baked beans, sweet potatoes, canned peaches, kidney beans and 100% pure fruit or vegetable juice. It must be noted that canned peaches in sugar/syrup don’t count – only those in fruit juice.
Fiona Hunter, Independent Nutritionist, comments: "It's concerning that there is so much misunderstanding around 5 A Day. This may partly explain why 70% of adults don’t reach 5 A Day in their diet, which is the Department of Health's current minimum recommendation. Fruits and vegetables are an important part of maintaining a healthy, balanced and varied diet as they provide fibre and nutrients vital for maintaining a healthy body. People who eat more fruit and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet and lifestyle are likely to have reduced risk of some chronic conditions including coronary heart disease, stroke, some types of cancers, diabetes and obesity. There are a lot of ways you can get your 5 A Day and it doesn’t need to be as challenging as people may think. For example, having a small glass of 100% pure orange juice with a healthy breakfast is an easy and convenient way to get one of your five portions of fruit and vegetables.”
5 A Day frequently missed
The recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey showed only 30% of adults meet the minimum 5 A Day recommendation. Perhaps even more worrying is that the new research finds more than half of adults only have 5 A Day four days a week or less, meaning people are missing out on the important fibre, vitamins and minerals that fruits and veg provide.
Why Brits fall short of 5 A Day
Inconvenience is cited as the main reason people struggle to achieve 5 A Day followed by the expense of fruit and vegetables, fruit and vegetables going off too quickly and a lack of time to think about including 5 A Day in the diet.
7 a day impossible to achieve
Researchers from University College London recently suggested that adults should be eating seven portions of fruit and vegetables a day rather than the current recommendation of a minimum five portions. However, the survey showed over three quarters believe this will be either impossible or difficult to achieve. Furthermore, in July 2014, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health showed that a threshold of around five servings a day of fruit and vegetables was associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes, but intakes higher than 5 A Day did not reduce the risk further.
Five surprising ways to get your 5 A Day from Independent Nutritionist Fiona Hunter
Use 100% fruit juice to make jelly or salad dressings– just 150mls of 100% fruit juice will count as one of your 5 A Day. If you’re following a dairy free diet, make your own muesli and soak it in juice to give your breakfast some zing in the morning!
Try adding chunks of apple, mango, pineapple or slices of pear to a green salad or add dried fruits like ready-to-eat apricot or raisins to rice, pasta or couscous salad.
Serve roast pumpkin or celeriac instead of roast potatoes. Slice pumpkin or butternut squash or celeriac into large chunks and place in a roasting tin, drizzle over a little olive oil. Season to taste and bake at 400C/gas mark 6 for 30- 40minutes.
Serve meat or fish with a spicy salsa – mix finely chopped red onion, chilli and tomato with avocado. For a fruity salsa, mix onion, chilli mango and cucumber.
Mix cooked pureed spinach, carrot or shredded cabbage and thinly sliced spring onion into mashed potatoes.
Tagged in Nutrition Healthy eating