Is Eating Five-a-Day Realistic?

A prominent doctor has suggested that eating five-a-day is not realistic for many families in the UK and Ireland,claiming that consuming two portions of fruit and veg is not affordable or practical for cash- and time-strapped families. According to Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard, affording five portions of fruit and vegetables every day is unachievable for low income families and individuals.

 

Instead of recommending that every individual consumes five-a-day, Stokes-Lampard suggests that nutrition and health advice should be offered on a pragmatic and individual basis, with recommendations and goals tailored to each patient or family's needs and lifestyle.

 

Fruit & veg, time & money

 

Many of us already struggle to pack five-a-day into our diets simply because of time constraints and our dietary habits. Many fresh fruit and vegetables quickly rot (although frozen ingredients are just as good for you), which makes meal planning essential if we want to eat five-a-day, plus reduce waste and expense too. With busy lifestyles, committing to sticking to a meal plan and finding the time to prepare meals from scratch is often out of the question, especially every day of the week.

 

On top of time and money constraints, there are also a number of five-a-day rules which make getting to your grand total of five even trickier. Before you plan your fruit and veg packed week, make sure you bear in mind that:

 

●      Potatoes, cassava and yams don't count towards your five-a-day

●      Beans and pulses only count as one portion, irrespective of how many portions you eat

●      A portion of fruit and veg is considered to be 80g

●      Some recent studies suggest eating more than five-a-day is more beneficial

●     Vegetables are believed to offer more health benefits than fruits

 

“It's not that hard”

 

But it's not all hard work and forward planning. If you shop smart, many nutritionists and doctors are confident that achieving the golden five-a-day figure is perfectly possible. A few of the five-a-day rules can help us out too, for example, aside from potatoes, cassava and yams, almost all other fruit and vegetables can contribute to your intake. Equally, frozen produce is almost exactly as good for you as fresh, so if your kale is on the turn, simple pop it in the freezer until you're ready to use it.

So is eating five-a-day really so out of reach for families and individuals – even in low income brackets? And should employers be doing more to help ensure their staff are getting the nutrients they need from these proven health-boosting sources?

 

Should employers help?

 

Our busy lifestyles are a huge factor which makes cramming in those healthy ingredients a struggle. With many of us spending upwards of 40 hours a week at work, surely this is the place to start increasing our intake. A recent survey by Fruitful Office recently revealed that 70% of participants claimed that having free fruit available in the workplace increased their fruit consumption. Surely this is a great place to start helping make that five-a-day figure more achievable?

Would free fruit at work help you hit your five-a-day? How many days of the week are you able to get your full complement? Do you think the target is unrealistic? Have your say and share your opinions below.