What’s the point of 5 a day (answer: not much).
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-1349960/This-cynical-day-myth-Nutrition-expert-claims-weve-duped.html
It’s not just Zoe Harcombe that has known for years that the five a day campaign is just a number dreamed up from a marketing campaign – us hard working nutritionists have been banging on about it for years as well, but glad to see its hit the DM.
What is very important to note in this article is that many of the qualities in food we do need can only be absorbed if the food has a carrier like fat or olive oil. So if the government is telling us to eat less fat, and avoid butter etc and more fruit we are clearly on a hiding to nothing. Eating five portions of fruit and veg each day is really hard – some days I dont do it (I know terrible isnt it). I don’t worry about it either as I realise its not the the only answer to longevity. I would concentrate more on dark green leafy vegetables rather than loads of fruit, unless of course you have IBS. Too much fibre can indeed make things a whole lot worse, and too much fructose in the diet is also not a good thing.
Confused? No wonder – there are far too many mixed messages out there. Nice to the know the government spent 3.3 million on marketing the 5-a-day campaign though…..
