5 portions of fruit and veg a day? – try 7!

5 portions of fruit and veg a day? – try 7!

7 pieces of fresh fruit and veg daily, not 5 according to researchers at University College London

A large study a University College London, involving over 65,000 men, women and children, has concluded that we are not eating enough fruits and vegetables.

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The study shows that we should be eating at least 7 x 80gram portions each day of fruits and vegetables. The researchers at UCL reported a 42% lower risk of death from ALL causes in people that ate 7 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables. Interestingly, tinned and frozen fruits seemed to increase the risk.

This research comes as no surprise to the World Cancer Research Fund who actively encourage us to eat a rainbow colour of fruits and vegetables, as this has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. Scientific studies show that fibre and other nutrients in these plants can lower our bowel cancer risk.

What constitutes a portion though, as this can be very confusing.  To give you an idea, 8 brussel sprouts is a portion, 4 heaped tablespoons of runner beans, 3 heaped tablespoons of carrots, 1 medium banana, 1 medium apple, half an avocado, 2 clementines and 1 tablespoon of raisins.

This is a wake up call particularly to those people who don’t even eat the minimum recommended 5 portions.

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