Five a day. Do we have to have so much fruit and veg?

[MiK1138]

5 a day is easy Coffee is a plant theres 1, Tobacco is a plant theres another 1, strawberry Tart 3, chips 4, chocolate bar (Cocoa is a plant) 5 Easy

 

[presta]

Five a day is a bit misleading. The important thing is to have a balanced diet. Plenty of all the important food groups. It doesnt really matter if you don't five a day every day, as long as you've not going for McDonalds to make up for it.

See the 5th item:

Fruit & Veg increases feeling of well-being too.
World Cancer Research Fund recommend 7.5 a day
[QUOTE 4971254, member: 9609"]My daily count so far
5 Apples
3 Nectarines
4 Oranges
3 Bananas
approx 250g Blackberries off the bush.[/QUOTE]
Dentists have been warning that you need to eat mainly veg, there have been people losing their teeth from eating too much fruit because the acid dissolves them.

That's Five, not sixteen. I have no clue why you are "not allowed" the same item twice.

I don't think it's that hard and fast, as long as you get plenty of variety overall.

 

[ColinJ]

Surely a little alcohol would be good for you Colin?

I am very good at not doing things that I like doing; I am hopeless at doing them but moderating how much I do of them!

For example - I never opened a bottle of wine that I didn't finish in less than about 30 minutes! (That was why I only drank beer - it took a lot more time and effort to drink way too much.)

I gave up alcohol for 3 years in the past and thought I was ready to go back to moderate drinking. I got drunk on one pint a night for the first few nights and then the tolerance started to build up. The second week I was back to 2 or 3 a day. Before long I was on 5 or 6!

I can go days without thinking about cake, chocolate etc., but once I give myself the green light ...

I don't know how much chocolate cake, cheesecake, trifle, (insert party junk food of your choice here) I consumed at my sister's 60th birthday party on Sunday but it was about 6 times what any sensible person would have had.

 

[Globalti]

[QUOTE 4972098, member: 9609"] I seem to recall him saying the sugars are not released from the fruit in your mouth and as such don't pose any danger to the teeth, unlike refined sugars in biscuits,sweets and fizzy drinks that start attacking the teeth immediately. I think he said blenders help release the sugars?[/QUOTE]

I beg to disagree; I went through a phase of eating lots of lovely sweet juicy navel oranges but had to give up because the sugar was upsetting a leaky filling I have. I am still suffering pain now three weeks after the Manchester 100 during which I necked a couple of sugary energy gels and bars, which set my tooth off again.

 

[swee'pea99]

[QUOTE 4972098, member: 9609"]Indeed Low fruits should be avoided, you need to pick the blackberries above dog pee height.


Because of my massive consumption of oranges I did ask my dentist and his theory was that providing I was not liquidising them in a blender then eat as many as I like. And if the proof is in the pudding, then I have grazed on large quantities of fruit for nearly two decades (fruit was my substitute for smoking) and my nashers are just fine, may be one filling in the last five years. I seem to recall him saying the sugars are not released from the fruit in your mouth and as such don't pose any danger to the teeth, unlike refined sugars in biscuits,sweets and fizzy drinks that start attacking the teeth immediately. I think he said blenders help release the sugars?[/QUOTE]
Another factor: I remember on QI the question coming up which is worse for teeth, sweets or crisps. Of course everyone said sweets and of course it turned out to be crisps; the reason being that sweets don't hang around long; crisps get wedged in between teeth, and do their evil work as long as they're there. I imagine 'orange sugar' is all gone within a minute or two.

 

[swee'pea99]

As for the general five a day thing, obviously the number is arbitrary - I would imagine the brief was to come up with an easy to remember message that would get people generally to understand that 'you need to eat more fruit & veg'.

 

[Andrew_P]

As for the general five a day thing, obviously the number is arbitrary - I would imagine the brief was to come up with an easy to remember message that would get people generally to understand that 'you need to eat more fruit & veg'.

It was counting on one hand, I looked it up. The initial campaign was paid for by the Fruit and Veg industry in the early 90's. But this annoys me and others like it, don't know why as it must be legit packaging!

Guessing the Tomato juice is the one a day but the 3rd ingredient is Sugar and the Fifth Salt... Although I tried I couldn't find a label showing the Traffic light labelling. Same as all these cereals (kids ones in particular the traffic light label only refers to a tiny portion!

 

[ColinJ]

I imagine 'orange sugar' is all gone within a minute or two.

I doubt it ... I mix one part OJ to two parts water for my bike rides and find that the bottles can still go manky a couple of days later even if rinsed with hot water. I need to use a bottle brush to get the sticky sugary coating off properly.

 

[presta]

[QUOTE 4972098, member: 9609"]I seem to recall him saying the sugars are not released from the fruit in your mouth and as such don't pose any danger to the teeth[/QUOTE]
As I recall it was the acid rather than the sugar that was being blamed.
[QUOTE 4972098, member: 9609"]I think he said blenders help release the sugars?[/QUOTE]
Yes, I mentioned further up the thread, the sugar in fruit counts as added sugar like in sweets if you blend it because pulverising the cells releases the sugar more quickly. If you drink fruit juice you need 150g instead of 80g to count as a portion, but it doesn't count as any more if you drink more than 150.

Another factor: I remember on QI the question coming up which is worse for teeth, sweets or crisps. Of course everyone said sweets and of course it turned out to be crisps; the reason being that sweets don't hang around long; crisps get wedged in between teeth, and do their evil work as long as they're there. I imagine 'orange sugar' is all gone within a minute or two.

My dentist said that you should brush your teeth before eating not after. Eating softens the enamel, and if you brush too soon afterwards you will remove the enamel.

It was counting on one hand, I looked it up. The initial campaign was paid for by the Fruit and Veg industry in the early 90's.

It came from the World Health Organisation's report TRS797 "Diet, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases" published in 1990, following a conference in 1989:

"The population nutrient goals have been set judgementally rather than on the basis of specific evidence as to the necessary level of intake. The recommended lower limit is higher than current intake in many populations and much higher than current intake in some of the developed countries. No upper limit has been suggested." (page 113)

Since then, the WCRF have recommended 7.5 a day, and there was a recent proposal from Imperial College London to increase it to 10 a day.

 

[Tin Pot]

1. Fruit and fibre
2. Apple
3. Tomato purée
4. Cucumber
4. Red peppers

Boom.

 

[swee'pea99]

I doubt it ... I mix one part OJ to two parts water for my bike rides and find that the bottles can still go manky a couple of days later even if rinsed with hot water. I need to use a bottle brush to get the sticky sugary coating off properly.

Well yes, but your bottle isn't being constantly washed out by saliva. I think it's solids that get lodged that do the real damage.

 

[ColinJ]

Well yes, but your bottle isn't being constantly washed out by saliva. I think it's solids that get lodged that do the real damage.

True! I have started using TePe interdental brushes to deal with those pesky food morsels which even an electric toothbrush won't shift.

[QUOTE 4973074, member: 9609"]when not in use leave your bottles full of water and that stops them going manky or getting that horrible plasticy taste. (This works even better if you add a touch of salt)[/QUOTE]
I often do leave them full of water now. It just surprises me what happens if I don't! The bottles look clean but obviously they aren't clean enough. It is especially hard to clean the mouthpieces.

Or, if you have room, store them in the freezer to keep bacterial growth at bay.

That sounds like a good idea!

 

[Tin Pot]

1. Fruit and fibre
2. Apple
3. Tomato purée
4. Cucumber
4. Red peppers

Boom.

1. F&F
2. Strawberries
3. Blueberries
4. Tangerine
5. Banana

I am Boss of the five a day!

I'm off for beer, steak and several bottles of wine.

In other news, I'm 1kg heavier than last week.

 

[Dirk]

Fruit and Fibre doesn't count as one of your five a day - unless you can guarantee that your portion contains a minimum of 30g of dried fruit.

For me:

• Fruit smoothie this morning (1 portion)
• Green soup, with courgettes and broccoli for lunch (3 portions)
• Vegetable frittata for dinner (2 portions)

and that's on a fast day.

You must be starving on a slow day......

 

[Julia9054]

I struggle to eat 5 a day without eating more food than I want to actually eat.
My food intake today
Coffee and porridge with a handful of sultanas (barely 1)
Shop bought chicken and salad sandwich (barely 1)
Apple and cheese (1)
Chicken, baked potato and red cabbage (1)
3 - 4 potions in total
There is a lot of fruit I don't really like. It is mostly a faff to peel or prepare and in this country has generally travelled too far and sat around too long and is therefore disappointing