An interesting article last year suggested that for a longer life you should eat more fruit and veg.
10 portions each day!
Researchers looked at more than 350 studies from around the world that examined the impact of fruit and veg consumption on a range of health outcomes, such as cancer and stroke, as well as premature death.
They found eating more fruit and veg was linked to a lower risk of getting these diseases and dying early when eating up to 800g a day (around 10 portions).
Although I enjoy fruit and veg, my heart sank. TEN seemed a bit too much of a good thing.
I’ve been aiming to eat my 5-a-day for several years now but I thought doubling the amount to 10 was a tad unrealistic. And then I started thinking about the portion sizes and wondered what exactly constituted a PORTION.
Consulting the oracle, the NHS choices website, turned up some useful info.
Some of the portion sizes I’ve had for 5-a-day are more like TWO portions. I’m already eating seven or eight portions of fruit and vegetables every day so it wouldn’t be too difficult to increase to ten.
However, the chief nutritionist for Public Health England explained to the BBC that setting a realistic target such as 5-a-day which people could actually achieve was more important. Dr Tedstone said, “Whilst consuming more than five portions of fruit and vegetables a day may be desirable … adding pressure to consume more fruit and vegetables creates an unrealistic expectation.”
According to a British Heart Foundation survey a couple of years ago,
only a third of adults in Britain achieve the 5-a-day target. The additional expense of fresh fruit and veg. was cited as the main reason for the low take up of the healthy eating target. I doubt that economic circumstances have altered sufficiently to lead to an increase of 5-a-day consumers.
Whether you’re aiming for 10-a-day or happy to settle for 5-a-day, you really should read this: 12 things that really shouldn’t count as your 5-a-day.
And, as you’d expect, the BHF has included red wine on the list.
3 Sixty Five Blog 
There have been some really interesting TV programmes recently on the BBC about the food we consume. Some of the revelations in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s series, about sugar levels in cereals (and the way they were marketed) were quite shocking.
I was also intrigued to learn from one scientist how the body takes on more calories/fat/sugar from ready meals than the equivalent home-made ones because the food becomes over processed during manufacturing and the body has less “work” to do to break the food down. Also the overprocessing makes it less bulky and fills you up less so you end up eating more – vicious circle!
Last week’s programme, The Truth about Carbs was fascinating too. As one commentator said, you can pretty much sum up the conclusion to the programme – eat more veg! (Note: I’m not a vegetarian, I love my meat. I’m an advocate of “everything in moderation”!)
When I was diagnosed coeliac, I read about how much and how quickly (last 50 years or so) we’ve bred wheat grain to produce more gluten as it makes processing quicker and easier. Trouble is, it’s also changed the balance in such a way that our guts can’t break it down so easily and for some (like me!) this creates a long term issue.
As you can probably tell, I’m on a bit of a gut-health mission at the moment! 😂
I’m a moderation person too, except processed food which I avoid as far as possible. Hugh F-W comes up with some shocking info in his programmes. I haven’t watched the most recent but the series he did a couple of years ago about waste was jaw-dropping at times. Thanks for stopping by and hope you’re having a nice, sunny weekend. 🙂
That list of 12 things that don’t count is interesting – I know that so many products like vegetable soup actually do say on the labels that they are part of your 5 a day – and guess what? There is no regulation about this. I saw a documentary about it shortly after I’d gone ‘you what???’ when I saw some ready-made lasagne in a shop with this claim on it!! It probably had the equivalent of one tomato in it, and loads of fat and salt!
I love vegetables, but can’t always be bothered to cook; one way I’ve found of getting lots of them in is to make a vegetable curry, a huge one, which I then eat every day for lunch – it’s easy when I’m writing, too, because I can just heat some up. It’s got potatoes in it, so doesn’t need rice. I made a week’s worth yesterday, and had plates all over the kitchen of al dente cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, etc, to go in it!!!
The other thing I do on a daily basis, as my ‘afters’ every night, is have a big bowl of blueberries and grapes with soya yogurt (I’m vegan). That’s probably two ticked off!!!
I’ve seen some most unlikely 5-a-day promotions. I thought the whole point was that the fruit and veg were either raw or lightly cooked – definitely not ready made dinners! Your veggie curry is a really good idea for both diet and time. My daily super food is broccoli which is nutrient rich and so quick and easy to prepare. I have it as a side dish with just about everything. And water. Lots and lots of water. Thanks for stopping by and hope you’re having a good weekend.