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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:
EveWasFramed72 · 30/01/2011 15:11

5 a day is the MINIMUM recommended daily allowance...we actually should be eating more than 5. Fruit or veg with every meal, and fruit in between meals. Simples!

GrendelsMum · 30/01/2011 15:27

I'm proud to say I have eaten 3 pieces of sodding fruit today. Wink

Next week will be the official Grendel's Week of Carrots.

I shall report back at the end of it.

hoovercraft · 30/01/2011 15:40

Actually there is some evidence that modern farming impacts on the nutritional value of some crops...I had some students do their dissertation on vitamin c levels of potatoes in various soils/areas.

Horton · 30/01/2011 16:22

I'm proud to say I have eaten 3 pieces of sodding fruit today.

Congratulations on your sodding fruit.

mitochondria · 30/01/2011 16:54

Are you all drinking lots of water, as well?

Eight glasses a day, wasn't it?

I'm not disagreeing that we need to eat fruit and vegetables. I think they came up with the "five a day" campaign to help people who have trouble planning a healthy diet.

I am a bit Hmm at some of the things they let you count though. Spaghetti hoops? Really?

I have probably had five today, or will have by the time I finish my roast dinner. Do Yorkshires count as a vegetable?

Jajas · 30/01/2011 17:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BuntingHill · 30/01/2011 17:22

Japas - yes you're right - there was shown to be NO scientific basis for that water thing at all. It was a random figure given by some random person with no proof whatsoever!!

northwestnutrition · 30/01/2011 17:25

I dont like the 5 a day message as I dont like people keeping tally and the idea that you can get away with having 5 fruit. The whole idea is variety.
Its easier to think of having 2 or 3 pieces of fruit a day and about 3 good cup measures of vegetables and or salad each day.

GnomeDePlume · 30/01/2011 20:24

As far as possible I eat the fruit & veg that I grow on my allotment. This tends to mean that in some seasons we are over run by something - the great courgette glut of last year means that we are still eating them now.

All the fruit & veg that I have eaten fresh from the ground/plant taste hugely better than shop bought let alone frozen or tinned.

Therefore I shall continue to ignore the government advice. I am fairly confidant that combining working on my allotment with eating the produce is the all round healthiest option.

Lamorna · 31/01/2011 08:35

I don't see why you need government advice, surely a day's menu would include 5 a day anyway?

PinkDragonOfDoom · 31/01/2011 08:40

fruit and veg isnt expensive if you go to markets and such and also catch supermarkets when they have special offers. Also frozen veg is fine. Tinned is just plain horrible.

As for growing if your lucky enough to have an allotment or the garden to do it in, then have a good, seeds are cheep and its not that much. We have neither of those, but i do have a few potato plants in buckets and i grow alot of herbs

pommedeterre · 31/01/2011 08:46

Supermarket fruit and veg is as cheap as you are ever going to get it sold somewhere convenient and in mass volume.
Obviously growing your own or buying from a farmer man down the lane cuts out transport/depot costs. Slightly more difficult to wangle into your everyday life though.
Modern farming though is attempting to produce identical pieces of veg/fruit to fit supermarket standards that come from what the general public think of fruit/veg want to buy. it is one big cycle...

Horton · 31/01/2011 13:57

While I agree that the govt target is completely arbitrary and it's better just to aim for a healthy balanced diet rather than obsessively counting anything, whether it's calories or bits of fruit or salt or whatever, I do think it's quite obvious that if you're not in the habit of eating fruit then at least the five a day thing gives you something tangible and achievable to aim for. I can't see how that's a bad thing.

Horton · 31/01/2011 13:57

GrendelsMum, how did you get on with your carrot sandwich?!

Cleofartra · 31/01/2011 14:09

A lot of people in the UK eat repulsive diets.

No wonder our cancer and heart disease rates are so high.

As for 5 a day - should be between 8 or 10 a day, but the government made it 5 a day because it was seen as unrealistic to encourage people to aim for this amount of fruit and veg when the average person eats about that amount in a week at present.

Re: the water thing - yes, it's fine to tell people who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables that they don't need to drink much.

But if they're not eating these things they need to make up for it by drinking more.

rockinhippy · 31/01/2011 14:12

YDNBU ...as IT IS BULLSHIT & I'm really glad we are just finally starting to see news reports pointing that out....just as the powers that be are making plans on 8 adayHmm

& I'm very well versed in nutrition & a health food freak, but it P's me RIGHT off....especially as my own DD is often held up as a good example at School, because she DOES eat 5 & more a day.....but thats because thats what SHE LIKESHmm not because I would make her eat it for health reasons.....

she needs protein & complex carbs ...not soddin 5 a dayAngry

JessemyParkson · 31/01/2011 14:26

I cut salt out of our diet, and both me and DH started getting dizzy spells. He fainted at work too.

I did't realise he had low blood pressure (same as me) and by cutting out salt, it lowered it significantly more.

Won't be doing that again in a hurry!

EngelbertFustianMcSlinkydog · 31/01/2011 20:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MissAnglia · 01/02/2011 11:32

rockinhippy if you're so well-versed in nutrition, you would know that you need micro-nutrients and trace elements that you only find in vegetables. I think you're just making excuses for your poor diet.

rockinhippy · 01/02/2011 13:19

MissAnglia, ?????? where did I say we ate a poor diet or DIDN"T eat 5 & more a day??....I didn't

& yes of course we need other the nutrients, micro nutrients AND Macro nutrients included, (which FTR are NOT only found in Veg) but advocating filling up on 5 veg a day without really explaining that not ALL veg have that much nutritional value, lettuce being a prime example & leaving no room for the other key dietry health components IS misleading & therefore total bullshitWink

we need to eat a BALANCED diet, including the dreaded fats & carbs & AVOID the likes of trans fats etc in order to stay healthy NOT just eat 5 a day....& you don't actually NEED 5 a day, IF you are filling up properly on other vitamin & mineral rich foods INCLUDING fats, so as to be able to digest fat solluable vitaminsWink

switchtvoffdosomelessboring · 01/02/2011 14:53

I eat loads of fruit and veg (particularly veg) as I am always hungry and if I don't fill myself up with those then I find I can't resist having a couple of slices of toast, and maybe a biscuit and, go on then, a wee packet of crisps and another biscuit. The result being I end up being a lardy ass.

I wish a cheese sandwich alone filled me up at lunchtime Sad

Jajas · 01/02/2011 19:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bettybosseye · 01/02/2011 19:31

I don't know about the fruit and veg but anything that "womans mags would have you believe" has got to be bollocks.

MissAnglia · 01/02/2011 21:09

Thanks Jajas. No one has every said only eat 5 a day - they're trying to ensure everyone has a diet that includes 5 fruit and veg a day, as so many people seem to live on nothing but carbs and protein and fat.

rockinhippy · 01/02/2011 21:41

it could do with an eye rolling smilie on here, thats for sure