How to get your 5-a-day

Our health guardians tell us we should be eating five portions of fruits and vegetables every day—but what does a portion even look like? Bryan Hubbard reports

We all got the memo (a long time ago): yes, we know we should be eating five portions, or servings, of fruits and vegetables every day to ward off chronic disease, such as heart problems and cancer.

Peering into the shopping trolleys of the people in front of us at the checkout, it seems very few of us have actually read the memo. Instead, most people are buying pizzas, chips, cookies and processed ready-meals—and barely a fresh fruit or vegetable in sight.

But what about the rest of us (yes, all you WDDTY subscribers) who are eating our five portions, and probably more, every day? Do we even know what a “portion” looks like?

The World Cancer Research Fund says a portion weighs around 80 g (2.82 oz)—so that’s 400 g (14 oz) you should be eating to reach your five-a-day. As you probably don’t walk around with a set of scales, what does 80 g look like on a plate?

For broccoli lovers, that’s eight florets a day, while a medium-sized apple, banana or pear makes up another portion. Turn to the smaller fruit—such as kiwi fruit, plums, and satsumas or mandarin oranges—and you need to eat two of them. A handful or two of berries is another portion.

One heaped tablespoon or 30 g of dried fruit, such as raisins, is a portion, and so is one 150-mL glass of unsweetened fruit or vegetable juice.

But, as with the recommended daily amount (RDA) of vitamin supplements you should be taking, these are minimum requirements to ward off disease: to thrive and achieve optimum health, we should be eating closer to eight portions a day.

So, veg out—on vegetables, of course.

What a 5-a-day portion really looks like

Here’s what a portion or serving amounts to for each type of fruit or vegetable. Aim for five to eight portions per day. Note that items with an asterisk (*) count as only one daily portion even if you consume more than the recommended amount, so choose wisely!

What do you think? Start a conversation over on the... WDDTY Community