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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that eating your "Five a Day" is BULLSHIT

202 replies

superv1xen · 28/01/2011 12:19

and probably just so the government can persuade us to shell out on overpriced fruit and veg from supermarkets Hmm

the reason i think it is bullshit is because i decided after a christmas of stuffing myself with junk food and drinking most evenings a bit more than usual i was going to detox and since early january i have been making a converted effort to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. as prior to this i was lucky to manage one or 2. mainly because of the cost but also because i dont like it :o

well after my weeks of diligent healthy eating, i have not noticed ANY difference, womens mags would have you believe you will have "glowing skin" if you eat lots of fruit and veg and all sorts of other wonderful benefits.

but no. i feel and look as shit as i ever have. Angry

or does it take longer than a month to work? :o

OP posts:
swanandduck · 28/01/2011 12:20

Dunno, I'm so beautiful anyway it would be hard to improve me.

fannyfoghorn · 28/01/2011 12:22

detox = bullshit
5 a day = bullshit
eating veg (not so much fruit) instead of pies/biscuits/sausage rolls = sensible

fruit and veg are also very dear too

It's like the salt thing; there is still no conclusive evidence that salt can cause problems in an otherwise healthy adult

LittleHarrysMum · 28/01/2011 12:22

I say it's bullshit and advise you to go back on the wine!!

Cakesandale · 28/01/2011 12:23

Probably >sigh>

I am obsessed with eating at least five a day (usually nearer 7 or 8, but I do like it so it's easier) and my skin is pretty good. But I still don't feel 'all that', prob because i am still glugging back having the occasional wine.

When I gave up drinking I saw a benefit in about 3 weeks, if that helps at all....

fannyfoghorn · 28/01/2011 12:24

Apparently coffee has more antioxidants that fruit Smile

(runs off to Starbucks...)

Meglet · 28/01/2011 12:24

I think it's a long term benefit to minimise cancer / heart disease etc. You aren't going to wake up looking like an cover model because you've eaten a few apples Wink.

And it's winter, it's hard to glow this time of year.

Deliaskis · 28/01/2011 12:24

Well, I think there's more to it than skin. Eating a wide variety of fruit and veg is, according to scientists, the best way of ensuring that you get a balanced diet with the nutrients that your whole body needs. You might not think your skin is any better, but you will be doing the best you can for your heart, other vital organs, muscles etc.

I do think too much is made in mags etc. about hair and skin with fruit and veg, but it's usually done to sell some accompanying expensive organic facial products or supplements or whatever. It does seem to have led to this myth that if you have a couple of glasses of juice and eat some broccoli, you will suddenly become an airbrushed, flawless, slimmer version of yourself.

D

Aitch · 28/01/2011 12:24

i think it is bull, though, isn't it? wasn't there a study of a greek diet that noted health bens from two/three a day (plus sun, olive oil, wine) and our govt decided oh well, make it five and maybe some of the proles will make three?

kreecherlivesupstairs · 28/01/2011 12:25

YANBU. I vaguely remember around xmas time a report in a newspaper rescinding the advice to eat five a day. Recently though, I think it's been upped to eight Shock

waitwhat · 28/01/2011 12:25

I'm not entirely sure it not all bollocks too.Every type of food is ok in moderation.

Wine is grapes which is a fruit so therefore wine is very good for you!!!Grin

Othersideofthechannel · 28/01/2011 12:28

I don't that governments are bothered whether our skin glows or not.

But they are concerned about the cost of treating heart disease, cancer, obesity etc.

Eating more fruit and veg helps is one thing that reduces the risk.

whoknowswhatthefutureholds · 28/01/2011 12:29

I take it your joking otherwise I will bore you with why I think only eating 5 a day is a pathetic.

Ormirian · 28/01/2011 12:30

I think the point is not just to eat more fruit and veg, but that in order to eat more fruit and veg we eat less crap.

So instead of chips with a meal, you eat some salad and new potatoes. Instead of a bar of chocolate you eat an apple.

Original poster
superv1xen · 28/01/2011 12:31

i am not joking whoknowswhat - seriously, do tell me why only eating 5 a day is pathetic? although i literally can not afford to buy any more, my new regime has already stretched the food budget to breaking point :o

waitwhat i like your thinking :)

OP posts:
BunnyWunny · 28/01/2011 12:32

If we ate everything we are supposed to eat to get the nutrients that all these "health' studies suggest we would be the size of houses.

How can anyone fit it more than 5 veg a day, nuts, pulses, oily fish, wholemeal grains, dairy products, 8 glasses of water, red meat for iron, and still have time or room for any fun?

mommmmyof2 · 28/01/2011 12:33

I have never eaten 5 a day! I have tried believe me but I don't really eat that much anyway and I find it hard to fit them all in tbh!
Not being big headed but I am constantly told I have great skin and hair, so that is rubbish!And when I did start eating more healthier (sort of a detox) I came out in loads of spots Hmm

But I do think just having a balanced diet is a good thing, I may not have 5 a day but then I don't over in dulge in chocolate and crisps.

Think its all about balance Grin

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 28/01/2011 12:33

Everything in Womems Mags is utter horse shit.

If more people eat more fruit and veg, more people will liver longer.

You, on the other hand, will be hit by a bus.

oldraver · 28/01/2011 12:33

I did a Healthy Eating Course (was a pilot scheme) for DS when he was two. The HV said that new advice coming through was that we 'need' 10 a day but its thought thta would be two much for people to take in and would switch off

Personally I've switched off anyway as I am sick of it everywhere. Even the C-Beebies Panto wa slittered with the five-a-day indoctrination

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 28/01/2011 12:33

live longer even.

YeButerfleogeEffete · 28/01/2011 12:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dartsonwednesdays · 28/01/2011 12:37

Supposedly the 5 a day campaign began as a marketing ploy by a group of Californian fruit and veg producers. Also, I have heard (and plan to look) that studies show that eating more fruit/veg does not influence the outcome for cancer patients.

And detox is a load of bunkum. If you eat a normal diet, your body is more than capable of efficiently "detoxing". After all, how did people manage to detox before the invention of detox diets in the last couple of decades?

I think the real reason for the increase from 5 a day to 7 or 8 is that people are beginning to realise that you can't quite absorb enough vitamins/minerals from veg on a low fat diet. The vitamins in fruit/veg are fat soluble so you'd absorb more vitamins from them if eaten with say a little butter or oil......the stuff you're supposed to avoid.

Vitamins in meat and fish are far easier for us to absorb.

I'll eat anything, and it's moderation in everything

darleneconnor · 28/01/2011 12:37

It depends what else you are eating as well. 5 a day wont make your skin glow if the rest of what yu eat is friend food and takeaways.

Your skin takes 28 days to renew itself so it takes at least a month for the first day fo healthy eating to show. Give it 3-6 months.

Also, it depends what the 5 are. If it's mostly fruit/juice then that's not as good as 5X veg. Also you need to vary the fruit /veg. Some are much better for you than others.

Leafy green veg and berries are the best.

Hammy02 · 28/01/2011 12:38

Its just the current advice of the day. I don't eat 5 a day but have great skin and am rarely ill. As long as you eat generally well and don't sit on your a*se all day, your body will be fine. Some of the most miserable people I have ever met are the ones that obsess about what they eat and how much exercise they do. Yawn!

justcarrots29 · 28/01/2011 12:39

LittleHarrysMum - I thought wine was one of your five a day Wink

kenobi · 28/01/2011 12:42

I think that all the skin and cancer benefits are relatively unproven and Ormirian's point is the most valid one.
Also people forget that fruit is incredibly high in sugar.

But if you want to take it even further check out this fascinating feature (apologies for linking to the Daily hate Wail but it is v interesting.