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Thursday 17 September 2009

HOW MUCH IS FIVE A DAY ?

 
We are all told to eat 
five portions of fruit 
and vegetables a day, 
but what is a portion ?




Aim for at least 5 portions 
of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day.
Fresh, frozen, chilled, canned, 
100% juice, and dried fruit and 
vegetables all count.

Fruit

One portion of fruit is, for example, half a large grapefruit, or a slice of melon,
or 2 satsumas. One portion of dried fruit counts 
(1 portion = for example 3 dried apricots, or 1 tablespoon of raisins),
but other types of fruit and vegetables should be eaten to meet the rest of the 5 A DAY target.
A glass of 100% juice (fruit or vegetable juice) 
counts as 1 portion. But you can only count juice as 1 portion a day , however much you drink. This is because it has very little fibre.
Also, the juicing process 
'squashes' the natural sugars 
out of the cells that normally contain them, 
which means that drinking 
juice in between meals isn't 
good for your teeth.

Vegetables

One portion of vegetables is, for example,
3 tablespoonfuls of cooked carrots or peas or sweetcorn, 
or 1 cereal bowl of mixed salad.
Beans and other pulse vegetables - such as kidney beans, 
lentils and chick peas - count only once a day, however much you eat. 
While pulses contain fibre, 
they don't give the same mixture of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients 
as fruit and vegetables.
Because they are considered a 
'starchy' food, potatoes don't count towards 5 A DAY. (Starchy foods are foods like potatoes,
rice pasta and bread.) However, starchy foods are also an important part of a balanced diet.
These portion sizes are for adults. Children should also eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day, but the portion sizes may be smaller.

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