Five A Day

It is no secret, most people already know it, but getting more fruits and vegetables into our diets is key to a healthier lifestyle. This blog entry will look into why eating more fruits and vegetables is important,  and will offer some tips of how we can get more fruits and vegetables into our daily lives.

Why Five a Day is Important

There are a number of reasons as to why eating more fruits and vegetables is important.

Firstly, fruits and vegetables are generally low in fat and calories, and therefore we are able to be in more control of our weight when eating them as opposed to other foods that often contain high levels of fats and extra sugars and calories.

Secondly, eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables helps us to get plenty of vitamins and minerals that we need into our body. They are also a good source of other substances, such as anti-oxidants. All these nutrients are valuable to our health.

Finally, eating fruits and vegetables helps to reduce the risk of many diseases and some cancers.

Tips to getting Five a Day

Now that we know why it is so valuable to get five a  day into our diet, we can look at some simple ways of getting extra portions into our daily routine.

• We can add a piece of fruit, or a glass of unsweetened fruit juice, to our regular breakfast. This will also help us feel fuller for longer.
• Make sure that we have a piece of fruit available for a mid-morning snack
• With each meal we can try adding an extra portion of vegetables to it
• We can make each portion of fruit of vegetables slightly bigger than normal to get even more goodness in each meal

What Counts Towards Our Five a Day?

Knowing what actually counts towards one of our five a day can often be tricky. Here are some examples of what does count towards our Five a Day:

• An apple
• 2 broccoli florets
• 3 heaped tablespoons of mixed vegetables
• 1 glass of 100% unsweetened fruit juice
• 1 medium banana
• 3 heaped tablespoons of peas
• 7 Strawberries
• 2 medium plums
• 1 medium pear
• a handful of grapes
• 3 heaped tablespoons of sweetcorn

Each type of fruit and vegetables contains different properties so it is important to make sure that we eat a wide variety of them. A good tip is to make our meals as colorful as possible!

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