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Get your 5-a-day

I think I manage to get my 5+ veg a day most days but fruit is another matter. I dont think I could stomach 5 'portions' of fruit quite apart from the effect it could have on BS.
The govt. could be a little more specific about portion size too but I suspect it would find that very difficult.
Sorry, I know the recommendations are sound and generally well meaning but I get a little narked when the government starts dictating to me what to eat, drink and run my life for me.
 

candyfloss,

Strawberry, blueberries and blackberries are just a few fruits that are very low-carb.

Nigel
 
candyfloss,

The recommendation is for a minimum of 5 portions of fruit AND vegetables per day, not 5 of each.

A portion (for adults) weighs approximately 80gms. Another way of measuring a portion is the amount you can comfortably hold in the palm of your hand.

A glass (250ml) of 100% juice (fruit or vegetable juice) counts as 1 portion.

Beans or pulses (kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.) count only once per day, no matter how much you consume.

The reason I know this is because I was on a course to develop health promotion skills and was given the 5-a-day booklet by one of the other trainees! The booklets should be available from your Doctor or you can visit the website at http://www.nhs.uk/5aday

Hope this helps a little.

Regards,
K
 
Squadron Leader said:
A glass (250ml) of 100% juice (fruit or vegetable juice) counts as 1 portion.
Click to expand...

One portion it may be but its a portion too far for me as it is so high in carbs, I don't know about now but back when I started testing it was one of the things that would always take me into double figures, so its a thing of the past for me now, way too fast acting IMHO.
 
Thanks for clarifying its not 5 of each which means I do exceed the recommendations! I wonder how many others think it means 5 of each.


Cheers, Berries are a favourite of mine and go well in natural yogurt.

noblehead said:
candyfloss,
Strawberry, blueberries and blackberries are just a few fruits that are very low-carb.
Nigel
Click to expand...
 
Does chocolate count ? :lol: After all it comes from a bean so it must be a veg......... :lol: :lol:
 
sugarless sue said:
Does chocolate count ? :lol: After all it comes from a bean so it must be a veg......... :lol: :lol:
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Only if its a Terry's chocolate orange................ :wink:
 

No, no, no: that must be two portions - the bean and the orange - a fruit and a veg!
 

Sorry candyfloss, didn't pick-up om the fact that you thought it says 5 portions of both fruit and veg. Anyway, 5 is the minimum and anything above that can only be of benefit!

Nigel
 
Since my Christmas pud contains dried fruit, and my dinner is accompanied by sprouts, cranberry sauce and parsnips, and bucks fizz is a must for breakfast I guess at least for one day I will definately have my 5 a day. Probably blow all my good work with the diet, but what the hell :twisted: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

Whatever! :lol:

Nigel
 
It's a problem isn't it!? Any fruit or root veg send my Type II levels soaring! We could do with a scientific risk assessment - is it better to have elevated levels but getting the supposed benefit from fruit/root veg? Or cut it out and have lower levels? Though there was an article in The Guardian last year that said most fruit is mainly water & sugar (fructose=sugar), and to get the benefits of the antioxidants (& other stuff) you'd have to eat about 3 tons a day - paraphrased of course. Concentrated extracts (without the sugar) would be better? Do they exist? I love fruit, but my levels don't.
 

As said earlier Geoff there are more than enough low-carb veggies and fruit, just check the carb content and weigh before eating.

Nigel
 
The problem is, the 5-a-day mantra is meant for the majority of people, and unfortunately we're in the minority (5 pieces of fruit a day could be harmful for some of us).

Unfortunately, we're the one's that look for advise - when it's not necessarily aimed directly at us.

A perfectly healthy person can get a way with eating 5 pieces of fruit a day. If we do the same, we're soon gonna know about it.

We all know that "everyone is different" (that's pretty much the mantra around here) - so why would we look to this "one size fits all" statement as something we should follow? Again, it should be a case of testing, and finding a level of fruit/certain veg that doesn't have a huge impact on our BG.

Personally, I'll stick to berries, and non-starchy veg (not right now, though - I'm on Atkins Induction!) - but even then, I'd get more of what they are trying to get into me (by suggesting I eat 5-a-day) froom veggies and salad.
 
The original advice followed a report on chronic diseases and diet by the World health organisation. They then promoted an
' intake of minimum of 400g of fruit and a veg a day (excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers) for the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity'
Since then another report has stressed that it was a minimum 'not a target.'
400g is simply 5x80g portions. In reality though many people eat larger portion sizes for fruit and lower ones for vegetables.

best advice seems to be to try to eat as wide a variety as possible since different types and colours contain different micronutrients (hence the eat a rainbow advice)
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the recommendation a minimum of 5 portions of fruit AND vegetables per day, not 5 of each ?

I manage that with ease.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the recommendation a minimum of 5 portions of fruit AND vegetables per day, not 5 of each ?

I manage that with ease
Click to expand...

Yes you're right. Unfortunately though in the UK only 28% of men and 32% of women eat that amount, in the poorest sectors of society it's much less.
http://www.heartstats.org/atozpage.asp?id=1290
 
Thanks Nigel. As regards 5-a-day quantities, strawberries for example equate to 7 fruit (according to the NHS) which is approx 4.2 grams of carbs (according to fruit carbs charts), mainly sugar - a teaspoonful. OK it's fructose. But anything with an ose is sugar eventually. My blood sugars don't see that as particularly low carb I'm afraid. This thread is about 5-a-day, so the quantities are valid. Low carb compared to a ripe banana or orange, but still pretty full of sugar - and makes your palette yearn for other sweet things. I'd go for fresh cranberries!
 
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