10 portions of fruit and veg daily – how to achieve it

What are the benefits of eating 10 per day and how can you achieve it?

​You may well have heard that the 5 portions of fruit and veg we have been recommended to eat, isn’t enough and that we should be aiming for 10 portions per day. 

How possible is it to eat 10 per day?
I think the real key is to ensure that you have some fruit and veg at breakfast to help take some of the pressure of the rest of the day’s meals – and do make sure to have fruit and veg of some sort with every meal. Also, remember that soups, pasta sauces and stews are great places for hiding vegetables from those who may be less keen on them. In our house a roast dinner is a great way to ensure we all eat loads of veg!

Here is a suggested meal plan for the day:

• Breakfast: smoothie - an apple, some blueberries, celery and spinach with lime juice or porridge with blueberries, raspberries and bananas (2/3 portions)
• Snack: a portion of fruit or vegetables (1 portion)
• Lunch: a salad with rocket, avocado, peppers, roasted butternut squash and hoummous or vegetable laden soup (3 portions)
• Snack: a portion of fruit or vegetables (1 portion)
• Supper: vegetable stir fry/ salmon and rice with sugar snap peas, broccoli and carrots/ mixed vegetable curry (2/3 portions)

What is a portion?
A government-recommended portion is 80g: so a small apple, large carrot or three tablespoons of peas each count as one portion. Remember that potatoes don’t count towards your fruit and vegetable tally, but pulses do, so hoummous or other pulse-derived dips will count towards your vegetable total. Not all fruit and veg are created equal so make sure you get a good variety. Work your way through the rainbow! In Australia, they recommend 7 portions per day: 5 vegetables and only 2 of fruit due to its sugar content.

​The study was published by Imperial College London and found that increasing our intake of fruit and vegetables to 10 per day is linked to a huge number of health benefits: 24% reduced risk of heart disease, 33% reduced risk of stroke, 28% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, 13% reduced risk of total cancer, and 31% reduction in premature deaths. Dr Oyinlola Oyebode, lead author of a 2014 study by UCL that had similar findings, said: “The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any age. My advice would be however much you are eating now, eat more.”

Remember, even if you do not manage your 10 per day every day, every portion of fruit and vegetables will help towards protecting your health. If you want to find out more, I can recommend a brilliant nutritionist.